A mostly great effort by Kurosawa

Rating: 8/10 (16 July 2011)

Another samurai epic by the master of the genre Akira Kurosawa; which, I find to be a mostly fulfilling attempt.The film follows the life of a peasant thief named Kagemusha who happens to look like the warlord of the Takeda clan Shingen. He is found by Shingen's brother Nobukado where he is trained to be Shingen's third body double in case of emergency. Of course this fate is realized when a assassin's sniper rifle finds Lord Shingen during a battle. Shengin remains alive for a while to let his men know that he wanted to be alive three more years for it was his goal to capture Kyoto and if he should die he would want it kept a secret so his clan would not go into disarray. Unfortunately Shingen passes from his wound and it is decided by the his cabinet that Kagemusha must pretend to be Shingen for three years (this secret is even kept from Shingen's family).
It is important for his double to keep his persona for if his enemies were to suspect lord Shigen dead then they wouldn't have fear of attacking, but knowing that he may still be living made them second guess their attacks and kept the clan safe. It also helped to protect the clan from itself for the warlords replacement was a mere boy and a son who is blanketed by his father's shadow who is trying desperately to find himself(which is a major theme of the film).
Their are many themes in this film of which to talk about but the most important one is finding ones self. Shingen's son Katsuyori is very lost even before his father's death. His son is the next in line to become leader of the clan ,which; brings him much embarrassment for he has felt his father was not fairing of him making him want to distance himself from Shingen's lore. These feelings later in the film become cataclysmic as certain discoveries are made. Kagemusha himself is lost between loyalty to his master and still knowing himself ,which; he is not able to be under the circumstances. There is a point in the film when he takes the persona too far it has dire consequences, but it puts things back in perspective for him where he finds what he truly loves.
The first two hours of the film are phenomenal, but the battle sequences once began got a little confusing at times especially a scene at night where you're not sure who the friends or enemies are. I didn't fully understand the sequence until it had ended and I felt it was the weakest part of the film lasting I believe between 15-20 minutes. I wasn't a big fan of the ending also it felt a little rushed to me for Kurosawa ,which; I find to be out of character for him, but I will say the films final shot was magnificent.
To Conclude I would say that despite the weak final act the rest of the film was very entertaining with an interesting premise and strong characters. If you are a Kurosawa fan you will love it as I did, however; it is definitely not in the category of Seven Samurai, or Roshomon. Visually astounding(the nightmare sequence was my favorite) at times and maybe a little confusing at others in the end it is to good of a film to pass up on even if it has its flaws.