Japanese Epic from Akira Kurosawa

Rating: 9/10 (12 October 2008)

Kagemusha is not as well know as some of Kurosawa's other films, but it is still excellent viewing and shows that he was Japan's best film director. It is a strong story with American financial backing, yet still a very Japanese film.
Kagemusha is a Japanese word meaning both Shadow Warrior or the Double: this tell you a lot about the plot before you start. The film starts with the recruitment of a kagemusha to a leading Japanese warlord. He was a theft who was about to be cruifixed when the brother, Nobukado, of the warlord saves him and trains him to be like Lord Shingen. It then gives you a brief synopsis of the situation in Japan in 1573, where three warring clans were verging for power and trying to rule of the whole of the nation. Lord Shingen's factor was the strongest and was in the middle of siege of Kyoto, the capital at the time. But during the siege Shingen is fatally shot and his dying wish was to retreat, forget the dream of ruling Japan and hide his death from the public for three years. This is when the Kagemusha is brought into play, but even he doesn't know that Shingen had died. He only finds out when he goes back to his old ways. But he still offers himself, to help protect the domain. When they return to Shingen's castle the Kagemusha has to fool the people, and even Shingen's grandson and mistresses. Nobukado has to cover for the Kagemusha saying he suffered an illness and teaches him how the court works and act like the dead warlord. In the middle of this the rival factors attack the domain, wondering what was happening in the court because they were confused about whether Shingen was dead or not and why his army retreated. There are also enemies within the court with Katsuyori, Shingen's son, who was no longer the heir, and was replaced by Shingen's grandson. He still lives under his father's shadow and wants to prove himself. He is also not happy that he has to call a theft father.
The basic plot isn't new, but Kurosawa has the great ability of making it well. It has a strong script behind it with some excellent dialogue, it doesn't not matter that it's in Japanese. The acting is superb, especially from Tatsuya Nakadai who played Shingen/Kagemusha. They was also an interesting look at the court of a Japanese warlord and the politics of the time. The power-plays were interesting and it added some complexities to the plot. Kurosawa knows how to do it. Kurosawa is also an excellent visual director and they were some truly great shots. One shot that I really liked was the army marching during the sunset and all you get to see is the silhouettes of the soldiers. They are some nice shots as well in the Japanese mountains, showing the beauty, but also the harness of terrain. My only real criticism is that the war scene could have been better. They was well done, and the troops did look authentic, but at times it was a little hard to follow (espeically the night scenes) and the film could have shown more. But they are some gems within those scenes.
I recommend this film.