[SPECIAL NOTE! This is my 100th Blog Post! I thought it only fitting that I would do a proper film review with it. I’ll have more to post later in the day, but for now, enjoy.]
In case you forgot, almost all Kurosawa films are Criterion now.
Somewhere between Yojimbo and Ran is Kurosawa’s 1980 epic Kagemusha. The film depicts the true story of a 16th century feudal lord’s death and three-year forced impersonation by a convincing double.
The story has all the makings of a Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court type farce that while making keen political statements doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Kagemusha not only falls between lighter films like Sanjuro or Red Beard and the heavier films like Ran and Dreams chronologically, it rests between them in a great many ways. Within the first act you can pick up on all of the classic Kurosawa subtleties in directing that we’ve come to love, as well as begin to see where he will draw inspiration for the next decade of his film career.
That is to say, the directing is as fantastic as ever. There are some bold choices made right off the bat, as the opening scene is a single shot with three characters in frame that stays near motionless for six whole minutes before cutting to the title. Also worth noting is Kurosawa’s choice to identify major historical characters with text on screen upon their introductions, which is nothing new to late 90’s independent films, but characteristically fresh in 1980s Japanese period pieces.
When I say it’s a period piece, it definitely is, and that shouldn’t surprise you knowing that this is Kurosawa. The mastery in attention to detail is still astounding, and the effort Kurosawa goes through to convince you that you’ve been dropped in the middle of 1500s Japan is nothing short of extraordinary.
Let me elaborate. The first half of the film plays out like this: we are suddenly in the middle of three warring clans, two of which are trying to dethrone the more dominant Takeda Clan (which happens to be the clan focused on for the film). The Takeda Clan is ancient and has never been properly defeated in battle as they use a time-tested tradition of being steadfast and smart in knowing how to identify risk. The story officially starts as the leader of the Takeda Clan decides that if he dies he wants a thief who he saved from execution to take his place as his double for the three years following his death. Naturally this sets up a rather whimsical world of possibilities for the thief and it seems like a comfortable little story that Kurosawa is delicately setting up.
He pays such deliberate attention to the pacing of this story that it’s easy to get lost in the world that he’s created. There’s an extended Noh performance, endless palace tradition, and general feudal society; all of which we’re treated to in healthy amounts to lull us into the unfolding story.
Much like in Ran, the real beauty in filming comes from the gorgeous cinematography in the scenic locations. Kurosawa has such a brilliant way with set filming that some scenes are practically hypnotic in their use of saturated colors and natural (or some cases unnatural) lighting. There is one scene in particular—a vivid dream sequence—that is literally jaw-dropping in terms of concept. There’s obviously a lot I can be giving away, but naturally I won’t. I will say that much like he does in his earlier work (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, etc.) he plays with thematic imagery, and we’re treated to gorgeous shots of sunsets, shadows and the like at all the appropriate times.
You see this particular shot a lot when image searching the film. There is no mystery as to why.
The soundtrack is minimal and unobtrusive, which is really helpful because the actors’ performances on display here are really something to behold. While beautiful framing and pacing will make up half of what draws us into every scene, the actors passion makes up the other half. The atmosphere with this combination is so rich that it’s palpable and engrossing.
This is all well and good until the final act, when we realize exactly what all this is leading up to. Be forewarned, here: there might be some major spoilers in my analysis. If you want to see the film fresh for the first time then I suggest you don’t read my deconstruction of the final act. I will keep it strictly to this paragraph, so if you want you can just skip over it entirely and come back to it at a later date. Sound good? Okay. As I was saying, the first half does a brilliant job of luring you into this charming little old-world Japan. Even as westerners, we come to love all the little quirks and traditions being presented. The thief is our protagonist after all, and we want him to succeed in his role of king-for-a-day even if he doesn’t really deserve it. And the best part is that he does a good job. It isn’t until he’s faced with the true horror of war that something begins to change within him. He is no longer acting a part; he has transformed into the kind of person that can run a kingdom. The implications here are fun to play with, but it’s not especially necessary because what ends up happening is a bit more important. You see, the thief is eventually discovered and has to return to his life of poverty. The kingdom is now vulnerable as a short-tempered young man who is next in line for the throne decides he is going to go against centuries of tradition and invade the neighboring clan. I should mention at this point, that the two neighboring clans are pretty distinct. They are both run by relatively young men, one of whom has a love for all things western. It’s his assassin that kills the former clan leader in the first place (with a European gun). At one point he offers another rival clan leader a peace offering of European wine, and makes a point to befriend the local Catholic missionaries. While the other clan leader is wary of this and finds the wine bitter, he accepts it and they join forces against the Takeda Clan. When the new boy in charge of the Takeda Clan ignores a symbolic warning of a rainbow boundary meant to keep him from expanding his kingdom against the elder’s wishes, all hell breaks loose. The rival clans use their guns to mow down the remnants of the ancient clan and the thief is the only one left to watch. We witness a bloody battlefield of old men lying dead in the face of a new era. I won’t ruin the last five minutes because they’re some of the best minutes of film I’ve ever watched, but I will conclude my analysis. What the movie becomes is a stark lesson on change. Not that change is bad necessarily, but that it’s eventually going to happen. The story of Kagemusha is a microcosm for a thousand years of Japanese history, told in a way that breaks our heart even if we’re not Japanese. Kurosawa cleverly spends two hours entrenching us in rich historic atmosphere until we’re bursting at the seams with love for it, then he reminds us that we can’t have that in the most brutal way possible. It’s crushing and every bit as powerful as anything he’s ever done.
My only complaint with the film is that the pacing in the second act is a little too stretched out. I know I just made the case for Kurosawa’s deliberate pacing, and for 95% of the film it works to a wonderful extent. However, the start of the second act felt just a little slow even by my standards, which truthfully may be a fault only of my own and not Kurosawa’s. That’s really it, though. Kurosawa crafted a wonderful world here (one we see often in Kurosawa’s work), and the lesson ultimately conveyed is powerful and stays with you long after the film has ended. It’s not surprising that Japanese television dramas have been so successful in garnering popularity through emulating the type of storytelling present in Kagemusha, it’s just a shame that they’re nowhere near as profound (or good). It’s like when you realize that Quantum Leap and Sliders got their inspiration from old Sci-Fi classics like the Twilight Zone. At least their source material is great. If you enjoy Kurosawa films at all and you haven’t seen this one, make sure you do. If you’ve never seen a Kurosawa film before, I’d still probably recommend seeing Seven Samurai, Rashomon, or Ran first, but this one is definitely not worth passing up.
Final grade: A
The Glass City 