REVIEW: Kurosawa’s skills on full display in late-career highlight, ‘Ran’
Ran, the remarkably epic film from Akira Kurosawa, is a King Lear tale set in 16th-century Japan. The movie is a tremendous cinematic effort that grabs a powerful performance from frequent Kurosawa star, Tatsuya Nakadai, and stages mega battle scenes on rolling, verdant hills. From the performances to the costumes to the action scenes, Ran is every bit a vehicle for Kurosawa’s unique skills as one of the most influential directors of the 20th century.
Nakadai plays Lord Hidetora, an aging father who is ready to retire and enjoy his spoils from a life of war and victory. He has decided to hand over his lands and castles to one of three sons, and this, naturally, causes much consternation among the siblings. The Ichimonji household, with Taro (Akira Terao), Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu) and Saburo (Daisuke Ryû) playing the sons, is in utter turmoil after Hidetora’s announcement.
There is a lot of backstabbing in Ran, and Hidetora’s sons continually disappoint him. The plot developments lead to several epically staged battle sequences. Hidetora is not involved in most of them because he’s wandering wearily on his former lands, losing his mind and unable to accept the misfortune of his decision.
Some supporting characters also grab the audience’s attention. Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada) is a calculating, violent person, someone who finds herself in the middle of the brawling brothers. Her dagger, her insistence, her violent outbursts provide Ran with some of its most emotional, intimate scenes. There’s also Kyoami (Pîtâ), Hidetora’s righthand jester who often can’t stop himself from crying for his master’s struggling state.
Of the actors, though, Nakadai shines above the rest. With his costume and requisite amount of makeup, he becomes this aging warrior who holds pain and hurt in his facial features. He demands respect at the beginning of the film and resigns to a much lower status by the end. It’s this downward trajectory that becomes Ran’s central character development.
Kurosawa should be commended for keeping the epic story so accessible and grounded. Even though there are numerous battle sequences involving galloping horses and militaristic throngs of sword-wielding and gun-toting men, the best scenes in Ran are the ones based on William Shakespeare’s original text. They are the scenes between a father and son, between two lovers, between strategizing warriors. Kurosawa’s strengths can be found in his balancing act between the large scale and the small.
Ran, which is finishing up a run at New York City’s Film Forum, is an awesomely entertaining and engaging movie from the latter part of this master’s career. It’s worthy to stand up with Kurosawa’s best.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
- Ran
- 1985
- Directed by Akira Kurosawa
- Written by Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni and Masato Ide; based on the play by William Shakespeare
- Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Daisuke Ryû, Jinpachi Nezu, Pîtâ and Mieko Harada
- Running time: 160 minutes
- Rated R
- Rating:
