chambanzi
Posts: 441
Joined: 31/8/2010
|
90. Ran (1985)
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Set in Sixteenth century Japan, Ran tells the story of Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) who relinquishes his throne deciding to assign the authority to his three sons Taro, Jiro and Saburo. For those who have read or studied King Lear this premise will sound familiar with the exception that Lear designated his power to daughters.
Sabura is the honest son as Cordelia was the honest daughter to Lear and yet it is this truthfulness that leads to banishment. Hidetora has become accustomed to power and has poor insight believing that the sons can share power, sure enough Taro and Jiro cannot rule in harmony and thus chaos (the English translation of Ran) is ensued. I believe Hidetora was, like many parents in denial of the selfishness of his children, his dislike for Saburo’s bluntness is because it taps into his own anxieties and these come to life in the form of battle scenes far ahead of their time boasting irreproachable cinematography. Against a backdrop of impressively overbearing mountains we are privy to every small battle as swords clash, red meets yellow, arrows meet flesh and fire and smoke corrupt the clear blue sky.
Nevertheless Kurosawa’s adaptation is not just about physical chaos but also mental turmoil as we witness Hidetora’s transformation from an unflinching leader to a deranged fool who ends up relying on his courtier, the novelty jester who remarks
“I was once the fool who made him laugh. Now he’s the fool and I’m the one laughing.”
This trading of places is gradual and realistic which can be credited to the exceptional acting talent of Nakadai who shows craziness through what he doesn’t show as opposed to what he does show, a refreshing change from the ‘in your face’ madmen of countless Hollywood films. How can you react to situations to show you are going crazy unless you have ever been mad? Some actors speak in a silly voice, make deranged facial expressions or lick their lips like a cannibal. This is effective in terms of entertainment but ineffective in regards to realism, however showing minimal reaction and acting indifferently to the other characters is what Nakadai nails and the performance is the closest to madness I have beheld.
Another bold performance comes from the villainous Lady Kaede, a character very similar to the manipulative Asaji from Kurosawa’s ‘Throne of Blood’ which is also based off a Shakespeare play (MacBeth.) Both these characters orchestrate the preceding battles and watch from the shadows.
Kurosawa’s direction is flawless, Ran is hailed as his last ‘masterpiece’ and it is impossible to even begin to imagine the effort he put into storyboarding and filming the battle sequences. I would cite Ran as Kurosawa’s darkest film; there is a sense of impending doom that is far more terrifying than the majority of horror films. Simply seeing the crazed, wild- eyed appearance of Hidetora, stripped of his respect and walking down the ranks of the men who used to serve him in a trance-like state of disbelief is an image that has stayed with me since first seeing the film.
< Message edited by chambanzi -- 12/3/2012 7:57:07 PM >
|
Printable Version
RE: Chambanzi's Favourite 100 Films - 
.
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread