The Brilliance of Colors

Rating: 10/10 (14 December 2007)

Ran is one of the best pieces of Japanese cinema. As an adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, it truly fascinated me. Akita Kurosawa directs Ran with the brilliance of modern realism and Japanese theatre with the additions of an epic story. It begins with a king separating his kingdom between his three sons. Two of them accept his offer, whereas one declines, insulting his powerful father and being banished from the kingdom. One could already guess the events that unfold after are not good. The first two sons both struggle with the responsibility of power, as the old king struggles with the lack of it.
Ran truly exploits the tyranny of power and the lust and greed for it. As a great war epic, it embodies the longer takes as moments of reflection that are very much needed for the deeper drama of the story. The deep focus is something that is taken advantage of in every shot. Kurosawa models the downfall of a ruthless king and his only talent of killing and greed. The one thing that I truly admired about this film was the vibrant colors. Kurosawa is very expressionistic with the color in the film. Each son has a particular color to represent as their own. Also, the use of white on characters expresses evil, which is something that is usually expressed as the opposite. The red vibrance of the blood in the battle scenes is something to admire. Growing up watching war films like Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart, color isn't something you see a lot of. I really admired that polar opposite that I witnessed in this film.
The last thing I'm going to touch is Kurosawa's use of nature as a whole character. Each scene appreciates nature which is something that is deeply integrated into the Japanese culture. I loved Ran and hope to achieve it's success as a filmmaker myself.