Masterpiece

Rating: 8/10 (5 July 1999)

The first time I rented this movie, I didn't quite understand it. I rented it again and it blew me away. Akira Kurosawa is a masterful director who can combine story, art, history, and emotions that can relate to present day. Very few directors can do that. The acting is superb, and so is the dialogue. The story is set in 18th century Japan, with the war between the three warlords: Takeda, Tokugawa, and Oda. Takeda is shot and later dies. But his soldiers found him a double, a kagemusha, who was about to be sent to death for stealing looks exactly like him. The kagemusha goes through heavy and painful emotional training, forcing himself to have the same posture and voice as the late lord. The story then leads into the war between the warlords and finally, then end shot of the film has so much symbolism, imagery and thought-provoking ideas. the battle scenes are exquisitely filmed, but that's not the main key here. Watch for the emotions. This is a true masterpiece, but not as good as Kurosawa's following epic, Ran.