Ran

⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I've been on this Japanese kick recently (I'm almost fluent now I think) that really started with Seven Samurai, so I wanted to continue on with what many consider Kurosawa's masterpiece. This was his final film, and one of his few that are in color, and I must agree that I feel this movie feels like one where Kurosawa took everything he learned over his career and put it on full display in one spot.

This movie is a retelling of King Lear in which an aging king divides his kingdom between his three sons, only to see them quarrel for power. Naturally, being Shakespearean, this movie is incredibly poetic and has a lot to say about power, violence, and pride. The characters were all thoroughly fleshed out and complex, and when I say all, I mean that in a 2.5 hour movie, there were a solid 6-7 characters where you understand their motivation on a personal level and still aren't sure if you want to cheer for them. I thought the writing in this way was really strong.

This movie also has a pretty epic scale. I've seen people joke that the director just recruited twenty thousand to then stage a real war to film, and sometimes it feels like it as the lack of effects made the war scenes feel authentic. Yet, Kurosawa's most impressive skill to me has always been his cinematography and his ability to frame shots perfectly, often sticking with them for a few extra beats to let everything sink in. There were a few scenes that felt so powerfully and dynamically shot that I felt I needed to take a photo of my tv or something. Finally having colour was amazing as Japan has so much vibrant beauty, and it made me a little sad Kurosawa couldn't utilize this earlier in his career.

So yeah, I think this movie was a near masterpiece in my mind. I sometimes struggle to know if I'm just trying to like a movie because I'm trying to score points (this movie is old AND non-western) but in this case I do think it was simply phenomenal. There were certainly some moments of disconnect for me, and perhaps it was cultural (similar to in Seven Samurai, the "funny" character was insufferable), but I'm willing to overlook most of that because this movie did so much right otherwise.