Outstanding

Rating: 9/10 (10 January 2020)

Glorious in its production value, devastating in its commentary on mankind. Greed, selfishness, cruelty, the will to power - these are the dominant traits in man, Kurosawa says, and it's statement about humanity in all ages, whether it be feudal Japan, the 1980's era cold war, or today. Peace and stability are short-lived, we live on a powder keg, and warfare and chaos are inevitable. It's a very dark work that's a joy to watch because of its outstanding visuals, haunting use of music, and excellent performances from a deep cast, including Tatsuya Nakadai (the elderly warlord), Mieko Harada (the wicked daughter-in-law), and Peter (the fool).
The 5-6 minutes of chaotic warfare set to symphony music, followed abruptly by the audio cutting over to gunfire and the other sounds of war for another 5 minutes is some of the most moving battle footage I've ever watched. The battle scenes near the end are also magnificent, with the warlords assembling their forces on the plains and those fantastic shots of horseman and foot soldiers scampering forward like a swarm of army ants. Kurosawa is brilliant in using the landscape to show the green paradise we squander by killing one another, and the resulting hellscape of scorched ruins. The undulating hills and beautiful shots of clouds in the sky reflect a timelessness, almost as if they were gods looking down impassively on the madness below.
We want to sympathize with the father who has been betrayed, but are told of the many acts of slaughter he committed in conquering his surrounding neighbors, and then in old age we see him make a serious of rash, irrational decisions, so instead we just watch in horror as he descends into senility and madness. While his first and second sons seem like the good, filial types and the third son scoffs and speaks a little too directly early on, note the little clue as to his better nature in the moment when the father has fallen asleep in the hot sun, and he cuts a few branches to erect a makeshift shade for him.
There are very few such acts of kindness in the film, but Kurosawa does show us an alternative to all of the violence, and that's the way of peace taught by Buddha, who the other daughter-in-law (Yoshiko Miyazaki) is a disciple of. The scene at the end is a touch didactic and leaves no doubt as to Kurosawa's view on how enlightened we are, but what a lasting, fantastic image he creates.