Grace and Elegance, Cruelty and Horror

Rating: 10/10 (27 April 1999)

We of the Western world view the Japanese as a tapestry. The delicate water-colors, the graceful tea ceremony, and Code of Bushido are balanced elements of the culture. In this magnificent effort we see the story of Mad King Lear translated into a feudal Japanese society. The imagery is magnificent; a flight of birds, a flight of arrows, they are all the same. Chrysanthemums and ritual disembowelment are of equal value and beauty. The quest for power ... and the cackling of the Court Jester. How exquisite the irony. How beautifully portrayed by a mourned master.