Great and inspiring essay here! I actually recommend Ran to a friend yesterday and have been meaning to get back into him. The pacing and use of natural elements in his films (earth, wind, fire, water) give them such an enduring texture that holds up well decades later.
Ran, like its source, is beautifully and subversively Catholic... An absolute masterpiece... He set it in the Sakoku period (after Japan rejected the Faith) for obvious reasons... Don't believe my theory? Just rewatch the final scene. Buddha falls helplessly away. Zoom out and framing the desolation is two felled crosses. It's in our faces... Kurosawa was infamously coy about his beliefs. I don't think it's too far fetched to suppose he could have been less-than-agnostic in his later years.
Great and inspiring essay here! I actually recommend Ran to a friend yesterday and have been meaning to get back into him. The pacing and use of natural elements in his films (earth, wind, fire, water) give them such an enduring texture that holds up well decades later.
Ran, like its source, is beautifully and subversively Catholic... An absolute masterpiece... He set it in the Sakoku period (after Japan rejected the Faith) for obvious reasons... Don't believe my theory? Just rewatch the final scene. Buddha falls helplessly away. Zoom out and framing the desolation is two felled crosses. It's in our faces... Kurosawa was infamously coy about his beliefs. I don't think it's too far fetched to suppose he could have been less-than-agnostic in his later years.
Would you like to write a piece for us on Ran? We have our five Kurosawa pieces set already but would welcome a bonus for our paid subscribers.
See Red Beard!