Ran
"I am lost..."
"Such is the human condition."
Set in 16th century Japan during the Sengoku period and adapted from Shakespeare's King Lear, Ran is Kurosawa's last samurai picture. The story is catalysed when Lord Hidetora, leader of the Ichimonji clan, decides to split his empire between his three sons. His eldest, Taro, is to inherit the first castle, and will be Hidetora's successor as leader of the clan. The other two sons - Jiro and Saburo - are to be given the second and third castles and are to support their brother, while Hidetora keeps the title of Great Lord. Saburo and Hidetora's retainer both voice their disagreement with the decision, and are consequentially exiled.
What follows is a vitriolic and tragic story of betrayal and rage. Ran explores the destructive nature of pride, greed and vanity. It explores the futility and triviality of war and violence, how power can be so easily abused and grapples with themes of nihilism, morality and the intrinsic greed of humanity. This is a dense film, almost to an overwhelming degree, yet Kurosawa somehow manages to make a story this grand and of such a vast scale still feel so innately human and still be deeply moving. Each and every character is impeccably written and immensely fascinating, and the dialogue is easily some of Kurosawa's best. The characters are used absolutely masterfully as representations or canvases to explore the film's philosophical themes, but they never feel like mere vessels used only for that purpose. In fact many of the key players in Ran are some of the most interesting and thought-provoking characters I have ever seen on film.
Tatsuya Nakadai is one of my favourite actors of all time, and his haunting portrayal of the vain warlord is one of the most spellbinding and masterful acting performances I have ever seen. Hidetora's descent into madness is so incredibly acted; I was utterly transfixed by Nakadai whenever he was on screen. His delivery is superb, the physical aspects of his role are performed wonderfully, but the expressiveness of his face is what truly elevates the performance. He captures the horror, confusion and madness so perfectly, and the ghostly makeup works to great effect in conjunction with Nakadai's performance.
Lastly, I have to talk about the visuals of Ran. This is truly one of the best looking films ever made. Kurosawa's framing and masterful use of the camera in everything I've seen from him has been superb, but nothing else he ever made even holds a candle to Ran - except for maybe Dreams. Most of Kurosawa's work that I've seen is in black and white, but the use of colour in Ran is among the best I've ever seen on film. The reds of the blood, the gunfire, the armour, the many colours of each army's banner, the fantastically vibrant grass and sky. Everything in this film just looks extraordinarily beautiful. It's not just the colours though, the framing in this film makes for some of the most jaw-dropping compositions I've ever seen. There is a particular moment with Hidetora walking down the stone steps of a flaming castle towards his sons' armies that looks ridiculously beautiful.
Akira Kurosawa is one of the greatest directors to ever live, with many of his films being generally regarded as some of the best films to come out of Japan. Ran is not only his masterpiece, but it is the greatest film I have ever seen. I cannot overstate how incredible the experience of watching this film for the first time was, and I urge anyone who hasn't seen it yet to give it a try as soon as possible. Ran is a monumental cinematic achievement, and a perfect culmination of everything that made Kurosawa one of the greats.
"In a mad world, only the mad are sane"