Review of Ran (1985) by Xing W — 16 Apr 2009

There is only one word that can adequately describe a film of this caliber: masterpiece. Kurosawa has directed many films throughout his life, and I don?t believe that any of them scored below a 7.0 on my scale; it is rare that I call a film a masterpiece, but Kurosawa has managed to create three in his career. Ran is the Japanese interpretation of the Shakespearian play King Lear. Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Nakadai) is the aged ruler of a vast Japanese kingdom, which he has acquired over his life by betraying and destroying others. He has three adult sons, Taro, Jiro, and Saburo; to whom he could pass on this grand kingdom of his. By right, the oldest Taro is given the land when Lord Ichimonji realizes his own years, in the film?s opening. When his methods are question by his youngest son Saburo and his closest advisor, Tango, he banishes them from his lands. Eventually the family ties of Ichimonji and his sons begin to crumble underneath the lust for power and wealth, which slowly drives Lord Ichimonji to insanity.

This is one of the most beautiful films that I have ever seen. The cinematography is perfect, capturing its audience with majestic shots of grand landscapes filled with the most magnificent colors. To put it in a greater perspective, this is probably the second most gorgeous art direction that I have witnessed in film. Kurosawa uses the colors of the clothes, buildings, and armaments almost as though the color was a character in this film. This character required no acting; its mere existence brought a grandiose atmosphere to the piece. The film?s music illustrated the horrors of war, insanity, and the intense pain of betrayal; when words were absent. The plot is a brilliant tragedy that makes you hate and love the characters in this film in ways that even I did not fully comprehend. Tatsuya Nakadai?s role was perfect, but I thought for a minute that he was actually going insane. His onscreen presence was incredible. All of the other roles, especially the sons of Lord Ichimonji, were filled with flawless actors who became their characters. The script explained Kurosawa?s ideals on the folly of war and illustrated the horrors that humans can commit for completely selfish ends.

I believe that this film is perfect, a flawless piece in the history of cinema, however many may disagree with me. Some people will find the movie slow and overlong, and perhaps too much tragedy to handle. I will say that I completely disagree with those statements and leave it at that. I give Ran 10.0 stars out of 10.