Ran Review

Being that I am someone who is considering a degree in Film Studies, I thought it an educated decision to educate myself on Akira Kurosawa. Being considered one of the greatest directors from Japan (or the world in general), my expectations for Ran were high, to say the least. Ran is Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' exchanging the English setting for a classic samurai format in rural Japan and Lear's three daughters for three sons which in turn emphasises the brutality of the story.

We see as Lord Hidetora (Tatsuya Nakadai) after a life spent dominated by war and political turmoil, separates his yield between his threes sons, distributing his first castle to his first son and so on. Saburo (Daisuke Ryu), his youngest, disagrees with this decision, not due to spite, but due to his disbelief in his brother's ability or loyalty which furthermore leads to his banishment. The country then spirals into civil war through the older brother's deceit and greed leading to Hidetora's descent into madness. The film is considered to be one of Kurosawa's greatest works and it's easy to understand why. Though it does contain all the regular tropes of a Shakespearean tragedy (excessive death, manipulation, deceit etc.), Kurosawa's emphasis on brutality and sense of realism adds a depth and level of terror to the King Lear tale that only emphasises the true horror of the actions taken.

Tatsuya Nakadai gives a spectacular performance as the Great Lord- his theatrical energy emphasises his spiralling downfall but also highlights the key moments of genuine emotion that allow the audience to feel genuine compassion for him despite the effects being largely down to his own inflated sense of ego and power. Visually, the film is stunning- Kurosawa using the primary colours to represent each brother respectively to create a visual clash that corresponds with the bloody action. One scene, in particular, plays out for an extensive period and the excessive nature of the battle juxtaposed with only the sound of the beautiful score by Toru Takemitsu balances the perfect levels of fear and horror at the visual scenery but leaves the audience still with a sense of betrayal and sadness. The film also ends on a very simple shot that fully summarises the hopelessness and futility of the events and prevents the audience from achieving a sense of catharsis which is palpable as the credits proceed.

Positives: Kurosawa really excels with this- the visuals, scripting, acting and score all coming together into a perfect blend that invigorates the original story into something much darker and full of horror.

Negatives: The only potential issue I could find is that it's maybe not a story for everyone- the plot is thick and intense and the length of 2hr42mins may be off-putting to some, though, in my opinion, it is truly worth the watch.

10/10