Review of Ran (1985) by Keenan S — 21 Jul 2014

You know, when you watch even only a small handful of Akira Kurosawa films, it becomes incredibly difficult to pick which of his works is his best because he seemingly could do anything, no matter what it was and no matter what age he seemed to be. Ran is definitely one of his all-time greats, and it is quite an achievement not only because he made this film at the age of 75, but because it also pushes his greatness as a director to new heights even as time changed. Ran is easily one of the greatest film epics of all time, and I'll do my best to explain why this is so.

When Lord Hidetora of the Ichimonji Clan's age begins to take a toll on him, he decides to step down from the throne and divide his castles among his three sons to rule over those particular territories. Taro gets First Castle and will become leader of the Ichimonji Clan, Jiro gets Second Castle, and Saburo will receive Third Castle, while Hidetora will retain his title, but remain mostly in the background of his sons' rule.

When Lord Hidetora presents a lesson based on three arrows that can't be broken when together, his son, Saburo takes the arrows and breaks them, stating that the lesson means nothing and that such an alliance can be broken, and also stating that the sons will probably not remain loyal. After all, Hidetora himself used brutal methods to conquer his territories, and his sons have a high probability of following in his footsteps to gain sole control of the territories.

Upon hearing this brutal honesty from Saburo and having suspicions of him, Hidetora banishes him, along with a servant named Tango who stands up for Saburo. Taro and Jiro still have their castles, which Hidetora remains in control of Third Castle.

Shortly after his decrees, Taro and his wife, Lady Kaede (Whose family used to rule over First Castle, but were savagely murdered by Hidetora and wants revenge) begin to plot to take control of the territories and take away Hidetora's title as Great Lord. Enraged by his son's offer, Hidetora leaves his castle and travels to Jiro's only to discover that Jiro is just fine with Taro's plan and has similar desires.

Hidetora leaves that castle as well and decides to take refuge at Third Castle, only to have it be attacked by forces from both Taro and Jiro who attempt to kill him and his forces. Hidetora escapes death, but is left to descend into madness in the wilderness as he is forced to live with bad decisions and misdeeds come back to haunt him.

In the midst of the battle, Taro is killed, leaving Jiro vying for control over the Ichimonji Clan and its territories, while also striking up an affair with Taro's scheming wife, Lady Kaede who uses him as a pawn for her own schemes through her seduction and beauty.

Now, an all-out war threatens to tear apart his entire clan, and he is left with to go insane with only a few devotees in the wilderness to keep him company in his personal hell.

The story is a grand and magnificent tragedy with a deep story and rich characters. There are many layers contained within the plot and every bit of it is engaging and riveting to follow as the characters descend into their inevitable tragedies. There's betrayal, madness, seduction, murder, war, compassion, and many other themes to be found in the tremendous storyline that will give the viewer a lot to think about and process.

The acting for such a grand epic is stellar, especially Tatsuya Nakadai as Hidetora. Though I've only seen two other films of his where he had a major role (Harakiri, Kagemusha), once again he delivers a great performance like he did in those previous two films I've seen. However, the actors playing the three sons are also magnificent in their roles, as well as Mieko Harada as the manipulative and seductive Lady Kaede. This time, it wasn't just one actor who dominated, there were so many great performances that you can't help but admire.

Ran is a glorious epic filled with virtually everything anyone could ever want from a grand, epic tragedy. It's a riveting and deep film that will make its 160-minute running time feel like nothing because there is so much that it has to offer. If you love film epics, Ran is not something to miss.