The Tar HeelThursday, June 5, 19865
y
Mae's greatness exposes .weakness off U.S. movies
By JO FLEISCHER
Co editor
"Ran," Akira Kurosawa's twenty
seventh film, is a 10-year effort
marking the culmination of his
extraordinary career. At 75, he brings
together all the themes and spectac
ular images that have marked his past
work, creating a film of epic scale
and stylistic grandeur that contem
plates the tragedy of human destiny.
"Ran," which translates as "chaos"
or "turmoil," is Kurosawa's adapta
tion of "King Lear" transposed to
Japan's civil wars of the 16th century.
The story is a cross between "King
Lear" imbued with Japanese history
and philosophy and deeply personal
echoes of Kurosawa himself.
The story is simple, and despite the
Japanese dialogue with English
subtitles, the telling is masterful. One
could watch the film without dia
logue and still be drawn in by its
powerful images that tell the story
better than words ever could. "Ran,"
despite the language barrier, is more
easily followed than the most con
temporary production of "King
Lear."
The film opens with ominously
posed scenes of men on horseback
set against the breathtaking back
drop of Japan's mountains. The
tension gives way to the graphically
depicted savagery of a boar hunt,
then focuses on the tranquility of the
field encampment of The Great Lord
Hidetora Ichimonji. Lord Hidetora,
old and tired of his 50-year reign,
abdicates his power to his three sons.
The scene is an adaptation of the
Japanese legend of Mori, an illustra
tion of filial loyalty and family
strength matched with the themes of
Shakespeare's "King Lear" creating
a unique film indebted to neither.
Hidetora announces he will abdi
cate and pass his throne on for his
three sons to share. To illustrate their
need for family unity, Hidetora
demonstrates that a single arrow is
easily broken, while three arrows
sheathed together are strong. The
two oldest sons pledge their obe
dience, but the youngest son, Saburo
defiantly breaks the arrows against
his knee; a kingdom won in war
cannot be held together by the
promise of loyalty. Enraged, Hide
tora banishes Saburo.
Turmoil and dissension soon
follow in the wake of the crown being
passed. Lady Kaede desires revenge
against her father-in-law for destroy
ing her father's position years earlier.
She fuels the unrest by goading her
husband into humbling his father by
asking him to sign a pledge to obey
Taro's rules in what was once his own
castle. Lady Kaede persuades her
husband with cunning and manipu
lation that makes Joan Collins seem
like Little Miss Muffet in
comparison.
Hidetora goes to the castle of his
second son, Jiro, who has already
been persuaded not to extend his
hospitality to his father. Hidetora
leaves, vowing never to see his sons
again.
Hidetora is deceived into occup
ying the third castle which stands
vacant. The castle is attacked by the
combined forces of his sons. The
battle scene is dramatic, graphic and
better done than the gratuitous
violence inherent in American films.
Kurosawa's focus is not on the battle;
it is merely a startling backdrop
emphasizing the realizations that
Hidetora is forced to face. Now
caught in the web Of his own spin
ning, Hidetora goes mad as the battle
rages. He is holed up within the castle
as his small retinue hopelessly
defends the castle. Hidetora stares
helplessly into space as his courtesans
commit suicide. Arrows and gunfire
careen around him as the castle
begins to burn.
Hidetora is spared, after miracu
lously surviving the fire, as the castle
is razed. He wanders the plain,
accompanied by only his court fool
and a single vassal. Now realizing the
fallacy of his dream of familial unity
in the rule of his kingdom, he sinks
further and further into madness.
The three wander the great plain, a
wasteland created by Hidetora's
warring 50-year reign.
When Saburo, the youngest son
who initially defied his father, learns
of his plight he seeks to retrieve, him
from his ruin and enters into a
confrontation with his brother who
will not allow him to rescue his father
from his self-imposed ostracism and
madness.
Where "King Lear" is a tragedy
of a man who loved well, but not
wisely, Kurosawa's is that of a
monster who has bred monsters:
monsters of obligation as much as
of ingratitude. His wanderings over
the desolate plain express not only
See RAN page 14
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