Author: Bryan Loomis
I'm lost.
Such is the human condition.
I love a late career masterpiece, and Kurosawa's is one of the very best. He's freely borrowing elements from Japanese history and Shakespeare here, but he's not beholden to them - he's only beholden to making a great film. The elements he pulls from those sources is plenty of palace intrigue and backstabbing, along with strong thematic material on pride, ambition, and honor. Those serve as a springboard, with Kurosawa creating something that is very original, expansive, and expertly paced.
The scope of this movie is so impressive. There are massive groups of extras coordinated beautifully, phenomenal costumes, and impressive stunt work. Kurosawa is so damn good with color, and it's also pretty gory! It makes you wonder what his filmography would look like if he was born two decades later. It all culminates in a battle setpiece towards the middle of the film that is some of the most engaging filmmaking I've ever seen. It's both beautiful and deeply upsetting, and serves as a real inflection point for our lead character Hidetora.
Hidetora is played by Tatsuya Nakadai in another true career capping achievement. Nakadai is really going for it with an outsized performance, playing Hidetora as restrained at times, completely unhinged at others, and also going in and out of madness. It's a very physical performance, and a very human one.
Another standout is Mieko Harada as Lady Kaede. She's ostensibly the antagonist of the movie, but Kurosawa gives you enough meat to chew on that it becomes clear that her actions are pretty justified and our lead family may be the real antagonists. Kurosawa rarely used female characters, which is really a massive loss and an inexcusable one given how often Ozu and Mizoguchi featured and spotlighted women. But Lady Kaede is a strong character with three dimensions, stealing every scene she's in.
Ran is a morality tale of sorts about pride and ambition. It's the downfall of many of the characters in the film, most of all Hidetora. Once Hidetora has given up the brute force power of ruling the kingdom, he realizes he never really had his children’s or his citizens’ hearts - and he has made plenty of enemies. We hurtle towards a tragic third act that serves as a final statement on the themes. Our final shot is that of a blind man, a victim of this family’s conquests and infighting, stranded at the edge of a cliff. It's a powerful image and statement, as we’ve spent most of our runtime with people we would consider perpetrators rather than victims. It's a cruel world, but movies like Ran help us generate empathy.
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