"A bloody family feud."

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2013)

Ran is 160 minutes of pure engagement, fun, action or whatever you wished for. It's a tale about an Ichimonji clan who has a ruler Hidetora and his three sons. Within the first few minutes itself the entire story will become clear to you. Kurosawa's mastery is seen in how the story progresses involving many characters and each playing a specific part. Lord Hidetora is ageing and he decides to give control of his kingdom to his eldest son. What follows next is a powerful display of human nature mingled with treachery, war skill, decision making, loyalty and many more. Keeping the main story on the top all the time it allows the viewer to think about the question of good or bad. Lord Hidetora's past was filled with slaughter and suffering to people and it comes back to him making the viewer wonder whether to sympathize with him or not. The film takes inspiration from the Shakespeare's king Lear. The acting from Tatsuya Nakadai (Hidetora) was spellbinding. Majority of his work was done by his scary eyes which depicted his inability to do anything when he understood that the fall of his empire was imminent. His face with all that whiteness of exasperation speaks things which no one after watching the film can ever forget. There is active participation of the supporting casts including the women (who influenced the story greatly) who might be the king's associate but were free to speak. It is the most expensive film Kurosawa had made and speaks for itself. The beautiful landscapes, the costumes, the palaces, the army scenes all shout for their achievements individually. It felt like everyone in the family had a grunt over something and wanted to be a part of it. The brothers had no affection at all for each of them. It would be nice to have a prequel to this story to see how these characters developed in the past.
MESSAGE: "Circle of life."
VERDICT: "A must watch"