| Ran is a reflection
of the state of human affairs, an accurate tale
of the perpetual balance between action and repercussion
which occurs in the midst of those who kill and
those who are killed. It is a story about two
brothers and their machiavellian approach to their
acquisition of power, about a rogue brother led
by truth and rejected for speaking that which
would ultimately and ironically come to pass,
about one woman and her desire for vengeance against
all those who shattered her youth, about one father
blinded to truth who pays for the sins of his
past with the blood of his sons both loyal and
treacherous, and finally it is a story about all
those caught in the twisted web of Ran, which
translates aptly into "chaos".
An elderly, hardened ruler: the
Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji, suddenly begins
to soften following a strange dream. Showing affection,
he makes his sons uncomfortable, as he prepares
to break some astonishing news. Hidetora has decided
to cede his vast sprawl of land to his beloved
sons. His son Taro would rule absolutely over
the land, while Hidetora would continue to reign
as Great Lord by name only, escorted by thirty
loyal warriors. His other sons, Jiro and Saburo,
would receive tracts of land in conjunction with
the second and third castles respectively. Taro
and Jiro accepted with great glee, but Saburo
rejected his father's wishes. Blinded by his own
fury, unable to see the forest through the trees,
Hidetora banished Saburo into exile. Tango Hirayama
rushed to Saburo's defense, but his pleas were
met with a banishment of his own. Nobuhiro Fujimaki,
in private, approached Saburo and offered his
daughter in marriage, and his land as sanctuary.
Meanwhile, Tango re-infiltrated the land of the
Ichimonji, adopting a guise and continuing to
offer his allegiance in secret.
Hidetora was quick to realize that
the error in his conduct was not listening to
the son who challenged him, for he was the one
whose presentiment was key. Lady Kaede was always
at Taro's right ear, and she filled his heart
with pride. Taro grew arrogant with his new standing,
and soon began to treat his father with conduct
unbecoming of he who still retained the title
of "Great Lord". Kyoami, somewhat of
a jester in Hidetora's camp, was nearly killed
for his biting, satirical chant against Taro.
Hidetora, in response, murdered the official who
pulled a sword against Kyoami, and Taro, furious,
forced his father to sign a contract and seal
it in blood, officially stabilizing Taro as the
supreme authority in his land. Insulted and dishonored,
Hidetora and his escort marched off toward he
whom he believed to be a more respectful host...
Jiro received a letter from his ruling brother,
warning that their father was coming, and that
his senility and instability were a liability.
In the second castle, Jiro schemed with his men,
for his arrogance and thirst for power had also
swelled. They plotted their own bid for domination
as Hidetora arrived. Alas, his escort was denied
entry into the castle, and insulted by yet another
betrayal, Hidetora was forced to move on to the
third castle, where he took residency shortly
after Taro's men had taken command of this particular
stronghold.
Suddenly, Jiro and his army staged
an assault on the third castle, as Taro and his
army stormed the keep. Brother fought brother,
and in the chaos, dozens of men lost their lives
in a gruesome display of horror. Taro was shot
dead, and Hidetora's escort was all but eliminated.
Hidetora's once benevolent gesture to his sons
had erupted into a consuming fire, and the land
of Ichimonji was being swept up in the flames.
Emerging from a conflagrant tower, Hidetora resembled
a ghost, as the parting crowd of soldiers watched
in silent awe as the Great Lord, now a barely
sane shell of his former self, escaped into the
plains. Tango and Kyoami, still loyal, managed
to rescue Hidetora, and they fled into the wilderness...
Jiro Ichimonji was now the supreme
ruler of the land, but Lady Kaede, mad with a
thirst for vengeance, not for her fallen husband
but instead for her tragic past, seduced the new
Great Lord and regained her position in the new
court of Ichimonji. Jiro, however, was married
to Lady Sue. Lady Kaede would not have it, and
demanded to see her severed head. Shuri Kurogane,
understanding the motives and manipulations of
Lady Kaede, disobeyed, stalled, and attempted
to reverse the order. For a great while, he succeeded...
Tango, Kyoami, and a crazed Hidetora
returned to the wilderness, where the former Great
Lord began to come across the darker side of his
legacy, that which had been for years hidden under
honored victory. They came to the impoverished
home of the brother of Lady Sue: Tsurumaru, whose
family's castle was burned and whose eyes Hidetora
had gouged from their sockets. He spoke to the
Great Lord with contempt, as Hidetora recoiled
in horror at the hidden evils he had wrought upon
the people. Once they had continued on, Hidetora
came to that castle which he had burned, and his
wits began to return. He remembered that which
he had done; he had remembered the vain and senseless
destruction. Fleeing into the desert, he escaped
Kyoami's watchful eye and disappeared...
While Hidetora's location was still
a mystery, Tango had summoned Saburo and requested
his assistance. Hidetora, in his pride, could
never face Saburo, for his son was right all along;
however, if Saburo could come to his father's
aid, wounds would heal and the former Great Lord
would finally find sanctuary. Jiro's men met Saburo's
small rescue force with belligerence, as Fujimaki's
men stood ominously on the ridge. Despite the
gravity of the confrontation, the new ruler gave
permission to his brother to simply fetch his
father. It was not long after Saburo sped to his
father's rescue however, that war erupted. Jiro's
forces were outmatched by guerilla tactics, as
word suddenly reached the battlefield... Fujimaki's
men had staged an assault against Jiro's stronghold!
Looking in disbelief at the men on the ridge,
it was soon discovered that their presence was
merely a means of decoy. Lady Kaede, proud that
through her manipulations she had avenged her
family (who were slain by Hidetora when she was
a child) was murdered in the castle shortly after
she successfully ordered Lady Sue's demise. As
Jiro met his end in battle, the Ichimonjis' web
of betrayal and deceit was finally dissolved,
and Fujimaki had, as Tango had earlier predicted,
procured the land.
Saburo, meanwhile, finally discovered
Hidetora, and he had returned to his senses completely,
begging forgiveness and looking forward to peace.
Hidetora, however, was not yet paid in full for
his past, for a rogue archer downed his last remaining
son, the only one who, in his dissent, proved
to be the most loyal of all. Hidetora finally
departed from this world, as an embittered and
lonely Tsurumaru lingered on... standing alone
atop a steep ledge.
Dissent. That was the key thematic
element which drove the plot. Were it not for
the dissent of the character of Saburo early on,
there would be no development. It was dissent
that first defined Saburo, not as a rebel, but
as one of the only characters that understood
the gravity of the request. Taro's and Jiro's
unwillingness to dissent against the offer of
their father also, conversely, defined their characters
as more arrogant, greedy, and easily coerced.
These aspects would be even further enhanced by
the vengeful Lady Kaede.
Vengeance. Though basically a main
support beam in many of Kurosawa's samurai films
to one degree or another, it becomes the driving
force to the eruption of chaos. It is Lady Kaede
who represents vengeance, for it is through her
wish to avenge her fallen family that she sends
an entire land into disarray, using her manipulation
and seduction. Without her lust for retribution,
her seduction would not have led Taro to cut his
own father with betrayal and shame. Without her
lust for vengeance, her seduction would not have
led Jiro into an all-out war. Without her lust
for comeuppance, many would have lived peacefully,
and Lady Sue would not have met her tragic end.
Consequence. Although dissent and
vengeance drove the movie, consequence was the
effect that resolved the cause. Several deaths
were the direct consequence of the actions of
those who experienced this fate. Taro had swelled
with pride and usurped his father's honor. He
grew powerful and arrogant, and in the process,
became a target for his brother's envy. In the
midst of battle he was gunned down by Jiro's forces.
Jiro too had swelled with pride, drew his sword
against his brother, and under Lady Kaede's influence,
attempted the murder of his wife. In the end,
his belligerence led to war, and he was ultimately
murdered in battle. Lady Kaede sought to send
the land of Ichimonji into pure chaos to avenge
her family, many were killed, and in revenge,
she too was slain. Hidetora ignored Saburo's warning,
banished him, ceded his lands to his reckless
children, and the ensuing bloodshed of his ill-planned
actions led to the capture of his lands, the death
of his sons, and his own bitter demise.
Of course, the thematic elements
and deliberate development were brought to life
by the respective roles of the dignified actors.
Of every performer, there was not one poor performance.
Even Shin’nosuke Ikehata’s portrayal
of Kyoami, though a comical character, is simply
brilliant, and his range of emotions not only
brings humor to his role when his character is
summoned to foreshadow or symbolize the transpiring
events, but also tragedy and sadness to the scenes
where his character is forced to deal with interpersonal
relationships, which are often stained in sorrow,
like that which he shares with Tatsuya
Nakadai’s character. Nakadai lent his
performance the entire range of human drama, from
blissful ignorance, to blind indifference, to
unmitigated anger, to painful loneliness, and
tragic loss, like that experienced with the death
of Daisuke Ryu’s character. Daisuke Ryu
gave his character exactly what he needed, a roguish
demeanor, but an underlying dimension of love
and understanding. It was in his body language
and line delivery that he managed to separate
himself and show that he was truly a diamond in
the rough, as opposed to Akira Terao and Jinpachi
Nezu’s characters. Their roles required,
quite simply, a constant, gradient swell of ego.
Arrogance, contempt, and succumbing to seduction
of both power and passion beamed from their performance.
Mieko Harada bestowed bitterness, a lust for vengeance,
and a passion for attaining these goals to the
tone of her character, and she became Lady Kaede.
Yoshiko Miyazaki (whose character was killed by
Lady Kaede) brought to her character a sense of
tranquility, but it was merely a thin veil that
held back her underlying hostility. It was this
that so angered Tatsuya
Nakadai’s character, who upon seeing
her, could not help but feel remorse for having
destroyed her character’s past. But, she
still had her brother, and that bond of love was
clearly shown to Mansai
Nomura’s character. Mansai
Nomura managed to make his character as embittered
as Mieko Harada’s character, but as passive
as Yoshiko Miyazaki’s. The tone of his lines
and his words of contempt for Nakadai’s
character are truly chilling.
The complexity of the events, and
the fine weaving of the story complimented and
enhanced the cinematic elements of the film, but
on their own accord, the brilliance of the execution
is breathtaking. The full details of
war, that which is normally not extant in a Kurosawa
film, is here in its full revulsion. Bloodshed,
gore, and agony envelope all the characters in
at least one respect, and from simply a visual
standpoint, the social commentary is quite clear,
especially when the sound is muted during the
first battle. The realism is uncanny, and peaks
with the conflagration of a castle, an effect
of visually stunning proportions due to the size
of the actual structure constructed specifically
for this scene. It became a vivid climax to the
horrors of the early conflict, and a truly ghastly
scene as Nakadai’s character emerged like
a ghost from the doomed architecture. The atmosphere,
an eerie tone with an underlying feeling of doom,
was enhanced by the score, which draws attention
from the ears while the eyes are entranced. The
more traditional themes, such as the opening music,
add to both a level of mystery and a dimension
of dignity, while those such as the eerie and
ominous theme that accompanies the battle at the
third castle, maintains a haunting air. Both large-scale
conflicts, the former and the latter, were emphasized
in size and gravity by the sheer volume of people
and horses utilized. In all, the number of extras
surpassed one thousand, and the accuracy of the
scenes was enhanced by this epic proportion. The
costumes, each individually crafted, took two
years of concentrated effort to finish. The volume
and size of the battles, all reflective of human
vice and the human condition, were completely
and perfectly placed into perspective.
Ran is simply among the
most artistic and intriguing of Kurosawa’s
long list of films. One's eyes and ears are attuned
to the violence, chaos, and consequence…
the dignity and the drama. Among Kurosawa’s
films, and many films, judged solely by their
calibur, Ran is a step ahead of most.
It is the culmination of a life’s work,
the elements of Rashomon, Seven
Samurai (1954), and The
Throne of Blood (1957) are clearly visible
throughout... and the Shakespearean influence
cannot be missed. Ran is one of Kurosawa’s
golden masterpieces, created in his golden years.
It is a must see for not only the fan of the genre,
but for the fan of cinema as a whole.
|
(5/5)