Once a week, we watch films together as a family. My wife and I want to share the culture we appreciated in our youth with our children. Next week, we plan to see Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai.

If you have not seen it, I strongly recommend it. It is an awesome experience. It’s not a film to watch with distractions around you – focus on it, and be rewarded. The acting is powerful, the cinematography masterful, and the story is compelling. Yes, it’s over 3 hours long. Plan ahead! It is worth the effort. There are lessons in the story, many lessons, but they emerge organically, not from some didactic pedant at the helm. The film is honest and even brutal at times, but it is ultimately about life and, therefore, to be honest it must be the way that it is.