Ran

Even though Akira Kurosawa continued making films in the 90's, Ran (1985) is commonly considered his final masterpiece. It is also one of his biggest productions ever - even though he used "only" 1400 extras, it feels like there are a lot more of them (Kurosawa directed the massive sequences in a clever way). The film is the story of an old lord who lets his three sons take his position, assuming that they will work together as he suggested. Shortly thereafter, the two corrupt sons betray their father and the youngest brother.

The film's screenplay was inspired by Japanese history (the daimyo Mori Motonari) and Shakespeare (King Lear). On top of that, it deals with Kurosawa's own views about loyalty. Kurosawa approaches loyalty as a theme in all of the film's storylines (there are a lot of them even though the plot description doesn't show it). He mixes elements of greed, lust, power and guilt with the main theme and thus, it becomes a deep exploration of the ugly sides of humanity. Especially his take on guilt is fascinating: once the old lord has lost everything, he goes insane due to his guilt and even tries to dig himself a grave. Kurosawa's take is ambitious in its complexity - and what's the best thing about it is that he succeeds perfectly.

Surprisingly, there are bursts of cruel violence and blood in Ran. It is something Kurosawa has never emphasized in his films before. Especially for a Kurosawa fan this film hits hard because it seems him go to an extremely poignant level in delivering his message. Kurosawa uses music sparsely in the film, but it even further punctuates the moments he uses it in. The most unforgettable scene is the assault of the third castle during which the old lord becomes mad: the sound effects disappear and there is only music during the disturbing sequence of violence. The silence of sound effects ends to the sound of a gunshot - and its effect is astonishing.

Kurosawa spent a LOT of time (around 10 years) storyboarding the film - by PAINTING each shot beforehand. The result is breathtaking because each shot is so carefully composed. The lines and the colors are in perfect harmony. The editing is also remarkable in how it flawlessly brings the story together and gives it the magnificent pace.

The tragedy in Ran is heartbreaking. The characters are corrupted more as the film goes on - and everything is slowly crushed and taken away. Especially the ending left me a little teary-eyed. It is a simply stunning experience to watch the film.

Score: 10 out of 10