Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, Japan, 1980)
Before he became a film-maker, Akira Kurosawa wanted to be a painter. In his later years, making color films instead of black-and-white as he had done for decades, Kurosawa returned to painting to create storyboards for his movies. These paintings were expressionistic and brightly colored.
Before he became a film-maker, Akira Kurosawa wanted to be a painter. In his later years, making color films instead of black-and-white as he had done for decades, Kurosawa returned to painting to create storyboards for his movies. These paintings were expressionistic and brightly colored.
Incredibly, Kurosawa managed to translate the essence of his paintings onto film - every frame of Kagemusha feels as precisely composed, yet overflowing with bold, unreal color, as a painting. In one unforgettable nightmare sequence, Kagemusha even becomes one of Kurosawa's paintings, as the characters run through a surreal, garishly colored dreamscape that was painted by Kurosawa himself.
In terms of sheer beauty, very few films equal Kagemusha. It is masterfully made. The story it tells is a simple but powerful one, similar in its premise to Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. A petty thief, sentenced to execution, is noted for his incredibly similar appearance to the feudal lord Shingen. The thief is brought before Shingen, and claims that the lord is actually a far greater crook than he is for leading so many to their deaths. Shingen is impressed by the thief's boldness and promises to spare his life if he becomes his decoy. Shingen is killed by a sniper from a rival clan, and the thief becomes his shadow to maintain the illusion that the great lord remains alive. In becoming Shingen, the thief changes. He sees how his simple gestures while posing as the great leader can inspire courage and loyalty in his followers, and give them something to believe in. He grows to love Shingen's young grandson, and shows far more kindness to the boy than the real man ever did. Kagemusha draws suspense and quiet humor out of the thief's charade, as the naturally crude and earthy peasant attempts to bamboozle everyone and is often surprised by his own success.
Yet his charade must ultimately be revealed, which is where Kagemusha becomes a grand tragedy. For all he has learned in becoming a great man's shadow, in many ways the thief's initial assessment was correct. From all this feudal warfare comes needless devastation, and the symbol of unity that Shingen represented was just that - a symbol, far from immutable, and one that is swept away to irreverence once more powerful forces come along. Like Kurosawa's next film, Ran (which, astoundingly, surpasses even this one in greatness), the tragedy of Kagemusha is unflinchingly sad, a cautionary tale that inspires humility. It culminates in a haunting final shot, which communicates all that needs to be said.
Fun fact: Kagemusha was made with the financial support of American filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. They were aghast to hear that Kurosawa, legendary at this point of his career, was having trouble securing financing for his planned epic, and basically strong-armed American and Japanese studios into bankrolling him. Lucas in particular had been inspired in his work by Kurosawa's earlier films - his Star Wars was deeply influenced by Kurosawa adventures such as The Hidden Fortess.
Watch trailer here
Watch trailer here
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, United States, 2015)
...speaking of Star Wars, I finally had the chance to revisit the latest installment of the saga, which I was mildly disappointed by on my initial viewing in theaters. Thankfully I enjoyed it a good deal more the second time through, although I still have some issues. The Force Awakens is a prototypical J.J. Abrams movie. It is slick and high-spirited, with a good grasp on characters; it also lacks the kind of creative vision that would make it truly memorable.
Star Wars is like a modern, pop-culture version of old epics such as the Nibelungen cycle. Heroes and villains emerge in new generations, each cycle formed by and echoing what has come before. First Anakin became Darth Vader, then Luke became a Jedi, and now the grand story of good versus evil continues with Rey and Kylo Ren. But there's a fine line between stories being reincarnated and regurgitated, and The Force Awakens sometimes falls on the wrong side. The victory of Return of the Jedi seems to have not mattered, as The Force Awakens resets everything. The Empire is now the First Order and the Rebellion is the Resistance. Han Solo has returned to smuggling. The bad guys have built another Death Star (now an even bigger Death Planet!) with a weak spot, because that worked out so well for them the first two times. There's little suspense in the overarching plot, and a disappointing lack of creativity in expanding the Star Wars universe.
Even though I found its plotting and mythology to be unimaginative and lazy, The Force Awakens makes up for a lot with sheer likability. The dialogue and performances are earnest and good-humored, and all the new characters have instant chemistry together. I was particularly impressed with the new villain, Kylo Ren, whose personal struggle between dark and light sides has an interesting twist. The return to practical effects and old-school creature designs is great fun, too - BB-8 in particular is a marvelous creation. The Force Awakens looks and sounds like a Star Wars movie should. It may not be my ideal continuation of Star Wars, but it is a fun, well-crafted sci-fi adventure.
Watch trailer here
...speaking of Star Wars, I finally had the chance to revisit the latest installment of the saga, which I was mildly disappointed by on my initial viewing in theaters. Thankfully I enjoyed it a good deal more the second time through, although I still have some issues. The Force Awakens is a prototypical J.J. Abrams movie. It is slick and high-spirited, with a good grasp on characters; it also lacks the kind of creative vision that would make it truly memorable.
Star Wars is like a modern, pop-culture version of old epics such as the Nibelungen cycle. Heroes and villains emerge in new generations, each cycle formed by and echoing what has come before. First Anakin became Darth Vader, then Luke became a Jedi, and now the grand story of good versus evil continues with Rey and Kylo Ren. But there's a fine line between stories being reincarnated and regurgitated, and The Force Awakens sometimes falls on the wrong side. The victory of Return of the Jedi seems to have not mattered, as The Force Awakens resets everything. The Empire is now the First Order and the Rebellion is the Resistance. Han Solo has returned to smuggling. The bad guys have built another Death Star (now an even bigger Death Planet!) with a weak spot, because that worked out so well for them the first two times. There's little suspense in the overarching plot, and a disappointing lack of creativity in expanding the Star Wars universe.
Even though I found its plotting and mythology to be unimaginative and lazy, The Force Awakens makes up for a lot with sheer likability. The dialogue and performances are earnest and good-humored, and all the new characters have instant chemistry together. I was particularly impressed with the new villain, Kylo Ren, whose personal struggle between dark and light sides has an interesting twist. The return to practical effects and old-school creature designs is great fun, too - BB-8 in particular is a marvelous creation. The Force Awakens looks and sounds like a Star Wars movie should. It may not be my ideal continuation of Star Wars, but it is a fun, well-crafted sci-fi adventure.
Watch trailer here
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