At the time of it's release, Akira Kurosawa's Ran (乱) was the most expensive movie in the history of Japan. Never before had Japan seen a spectacle as grand as Kurosawa's epic adaptation of 'King Lear'. As I witnessed this epic recently at a special screening, I realized once again why the auteur was regarded as one of the greatest cinematic genius. Such is the mastery of Kurosawa that despite the grandiose and scale of Ran, every character leaves a indelible mark with their emotions, intents, desires, fears and their 'madness' perfectly etched out.
Ran (乱) sees Kurosawa partner with Tatsuya Nakadai once again, his favourite leading man since the fallout with the great Toshiro Mifune. Tatsuya Nakadai plays the 70 years-old Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (inspired by King Lear) who decides to abdicate his throne and pass on the main authority to his eldest Son Taro, and with each son getting a castle. But the youngest and the Lord's favourite son Saburo isn't pleased with his father's decision. He considers it to be made in haste and pleads him to continue being the Lord in command. The open displeasure leads him to being banished by the Lord. Though it's a serene start, it sets the tone with the introduction of the main characters and the bright and vivid colors that Kurosawa uses skillfully to enhance the appeal of the settings.
Saburo's warnings come true as his elder sons Tao and Jiro conspire against him to destroy the remnants of power still held by Hidetora. Within the opening hour, we witness the first war sequence in the form of an attack on the castle where Hidetora has sought residence. The sequence is mesmerizing with it's detailed chaos. The horse-mounted Samurai cavalry ride with aggression and purpose, and the foot soldiers seem equally purposeful. Though the extras only numbered in a few hundreds, Kurosawa's direction creates the illusion of thousands, and an intensity not often seen on the celluloid. One just can't deny the masterful eye for details reflected in this beautifully crafted sequence. In the midst of the chaos emerges Lady Kaede (Mieko Harada), Taro's wife who later becomes Jiro's mistress. Driven by the single purpose to destroy the Ichimonji clan responsible for the death of her family, Harada evokes a sense of dread with her ghostly appearance, eerily menacing demeanor and abrupt ferocity.
The betrayal by his own sons drives Hidetora to madness and the movie becomes increasing introspective and grim. Accompanied by a loyal advisor and a court jester Kyoami, directly inspired from 'fool', a character from Shakespeare's Lear, they seek refuge in an abandoned castle of a rival clan that was burnt down at Hidetora's command. Anachronistic as Kyoami's character may seem to anyone vaguely familiar with the Japanese culture during the reign of Samurais, he manages to evoke credibility (but it's open for debate!).
Toru Takemitsu's brilliant music adds to the horror of desolation faced by the trio, as it did for the ambiance-muted war sequence.
Tatsuya Nakadai's trans-formative performance, from a strong-willed and aggressive Lord to a mad-man, is sheer brilliance. By the time it comes to the final battle sequence, equally detailed and masterful as the first one, Kurosawa's brilliance convinces us of the insanity that partakes in all of us as we struggle and labor to fight and destroy each other, and ourselves. In it's 162 mins of running length, there's not a wasted moment. Every character and detail exists for a purpose. Ran (乱) is a Kurosawa masterpiece and deserves it's standing as one of the best in the world of cinema.
Love and Honor (Bushi no ichibun) is the final act of Yoji Yamada's acclaimed Samurai trilogy, with the previous films being the Oscar nominated The Twilight Samurai and the equally brilliant The Hidden Blade. As with the previous two films, Love and Honor is also an adaptation from a short story by Shuhei Fujisawa and similarly portrays the trials and tribulations of a simple samurai and his family, and the ingrained Samurai code. Also similar to it's predecessors, it greatly impressed the Japanese Academy winning 13 nominations including best Film. But it only managed to win 3 awards.
Set in the EDO period, it's the story of Shinojo (Takuya Kimura), a bashful mid-level Samurai who leads a comfortable life with his beautiful and dutiful wife Kayo (Rei Dan) and a loyal old servant who's all too happy to be the butt of Shinojo's jokes. Shinojo despises his position as a food-taster for the 'lord' (to ensure that it's not poisoned) and dreams of starting a Kendo dojo where everyone would be taught based on their abilities, just like 'kimonos fit different people differently'. His dreams are shattered when he ends up food-tasting a toxic preperation, that causes him to go blind.
Though the movie starts in a lighter vein, it quickly transcends into a darker and more introspective film with the tragedy. Takuya Kimura and Rei Dan seem capable with their performance through these emotional scenes that capture the anger and frustration of Shinojo, and the resolute love and support of Kayo. For the first half, Love and Honor is really a drama about personal tragedy. The circumstances leads to a moral dilemma with Kayo compromising on her virtues, in hopes of ensuring livelihood for her husband.
Though unforgiving on his wife, Shinojo gradually realizes the injustice done to Kayo and seeks to avenge her honor. Though the 'Samurai' genre is filled with the 'blind samurai' cliches, Yoji Yamda brilliantly captures the pain and anguish, as well as the Samurai code that endures despite physical handicaps. Keeping in tradition with the previous films, Love and Honor (Bushi no ichibun) also culminates with a sense of happiness, a feeling shared by me for these brilliantly crafted Samurai tales by Yoji Yamada which deserve their place among the best that the modern Samurai films have to offer.
A few weeks ago I reviewed the Oscar nominated The Twilight Samurai, the first installment of Yoji Yamada's acclaimed Samurai Trilogy. Nearly as brilliant, The Hidden Blade bears a strong resemblance to it's predecessor that is not merely limited to the similar art-house production values and style and authentic portrayal of a simple Samurai's life, but also in it's plot elements. The movie received an impressive 12 Japanese Academy Awards nominations, but unfortunately only won for it's superb art-direction. It was also nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.The Hidden Blade stars Masatoshi Nagase as Munezo Katagiri, a lowly 50 koku Samurai with a simple existence but a strong belief and respect for the Samurai code. Set in 1860s, the backdrop presents a shifting preference towards western arms and ammunition as part of military tactics, from the more traditional Sword and arrows based Samurai warfare. Yamada portrays the transformation with great authenticity and it also provides some of the film's rare humor as the proud samurai struggle to learn the basics of western rifles and canons. One of the funniest moments is when a Edo based instructor challenges a Samurai to race to prove the superiority of western running style with raised knees and arm movements, as opposed to 'squatty' running style of the Samurais.
This was also a period of treachery and secret mutiny's against the lords and the Shogunate as Japan approach the era of Meiji restoration. Katagiri finds himself in a moral dilemma when he's ordered by the clan to kill a old friend who was accused of rebellion and treachery. But the soul of the film is Katagiri's subdued love interest for his beautiful and noble maid kei (Takako Matsu), whom he rescues from her abusive husband and in-laws. But his Samurai code prevents him from proposing marriage to a member of a different class, as such an event was frowned upon by the Japanese culture of stringent class system. Takako Matsu is brilliant as the noble Kei; especially if you have seen her contrasting performance as a cold and calculated avenger of her young child's murder in 2010 Oscar nominated Confessions (Kokuhaku).
Yoji Yamada yet again succeeds in creating a authentic and demystifying portrayal of a Samurai. Though the story-line maintains a slightly more cheerful tone (or less depressive depending on one's perspective) compared to The Twilight Samurai, it's characters are equally captivating and affect a moving story. And much like Twilight Samurai, Katagiri finds his redemption with his skills with the blade and his code of honor. Though the final moments of the film could be called a fairy-tale ending, it doesn't feel forced and maintains the credibility and realism as with the rest of the movie.
The Hidden blade succeeds as another Yoji Yamada Samurai classic that is tranquil yet moving, and captivates with exciting moments, great direction and performances.
Takeshi Kitano ('Beat' Takeshi) is arguably the most prolific Japanese actor and film-maker of recent era. Popular for his 'deadpan' humor, reflected both in his acting and directorial style, Kitano's movies have defined a genre of it's own. Though most of his early works revolved around cops and Yakuza gangster themes, he has shown great proficiency in handling other subjects with ease as well. In 2003, Takeshi Kitano presented the revival of Zatoichi, the classic fictional Samurai legend of television series and Samurai films with The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi.
Starring, Written, Edited and Directed by Takeshi Kitano, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi became the biggest commercial success of Kitano's illustrious career. The movie was also a major critical success winning numerous awards including the Audience Award for Best Film and the Silver Lion for Best Director at the 2003 Venice Film Festival.
'Beat' Takeshi stars as the legendary 'blind' masseur and Samurai with a weakness for dice, and senses mastered to beat even the most skilled swordsman. He is also a gentlemen who treats women with respect, and likes to mingle with people, despite being a loner traveling from village to village handing out justice wherever needed. It begins with Zatoichi helping an elderly woman (Michiyo Ookusu) carry the vegetables home and in return being offered a place to stay.
As the story unfolds, Zatoichi realizes the hardships borne by the villagers due to warring gangs who keep on increasing the protection money. With such a cliched premise, Zatoichi could've easily been a slice-and-dice Samurai flick but Takeshi Kitano expertly adds in a revenge saga as well in the form of two geishas who saw their rich family getting slaughtered by bandits when they were young, and have been seeking vengeance since then.
Japanese heartthrob Tadanobu Asano stars as a Ronin (master-less Samurai) Hattori Genosuke, the perfect counterfoil to Zatoichi, with a story of his own. Offering his services as a "bodyguard" to anyone offering the money, including the gang Zatoichi is out to destroy, Hattori and Zatoichi naturally find themselves in warring paths. The final showdown between Zatoichi and Hattori might come across as anti-climactic to some, but is respectable for it's authenticity and realism, true for all fight sequences despite the rich splashes.
The movie is satisfyingly complex and entertaining due to the richness of it's characters, attention to even the most subtle details and the interesting plot elements such as the subtle and poignant love story between Hattori and his ailing wife, the histrionics of the old woman's nephew with a gambling addiction, and the sister and a cross dressing brother as the vengeful geisha siblings. The villains are also convincing and are more that sketch-board characters. There are also elements of suspense masterfully infused into the natural progression of events in the film.
The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi is distinctively Kitano who infuses new life into the classic legend, with laudable efforts both behind and in-front of the camera, and is largely aimed at the mainstream with it's complex and interesting screenplay, rich fight sequences and comical undertone throughout the running time that makes it a supremely charming and entertaining affair.
Last week I saw the entertaining "The Blind Swordsman - Zatoichi" by Takeshi Kitano and was impressed (yet again!) by the Japanese star Asano Tadanobu's performance as the Ronin Hattori Genosuke, the 'ultra-cool' assassin and nemesis of Zatoichi. There's a reason why Asano is hailed as Asia's answer to Johny Depp. Having previously seen him in Takashi Miike's cult-classic Ichi the Killer, I decided to explore his other acclaimed works and stumbled upon the little known gem "Last Life in the Universe". Directed by acclaimed Thai auteur Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, the movie is really a cross-cultural enterprise with dialogues in Thai, Japanese and English.
The movie's style also bears a strong resemblance to the films by the great Hong-Kong director Wong Kar-Wai that probably has to do with the cinematography by Christopher Doyle, who has worked with Wong Kar-Wai on some of his most acclaimed films such as Days of Being Wild, 2046, In the Mood of Love, among others.
Last Life in the Universe is set in Bangkok and revolves around the friendship and romance between a lonely and suicidal Japanese librarian Kenji (Tadanobu Asano) and a free-spirited pot-spoking Thai woman Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak) who's about to leave for Osaka in a few days, as they are brought together by a personal tragedy. The movie begins with a shot of Kenji making another attempt of suicide, one of many for clean-freak Kenji who always backs out or is interrupted, this time by his rude Yakuza brother.
In Kenji and Noi, we have a comical mismatch of personalities making their interactions and time together at the coastal house of Noi interesting, despite the lack of engaging dialogues. Little comes in the way of their backgrounds, especially of Kenji's reasons to move from Osaka, though a few shots of his bare-back covered with dragon tattoos are suggestive. For most of the running time, Last Life in the Universe has almost got a zen like feel to it (complemented by Doyle's brilliant cinematography), only to erupt violently, courtesy an abusive boyfriend and Yakuzas.
The themes of sorrow, grief and loneliness pervades large parts of the story-telling (though I must admit there is not much in the name of a story, though the ending of the film could definitely be the subject of interesting coffee-shop conversations), but there's always a strong undertone of warmth and optimism interspersed through-out.
Last Life in the Universe could be criticized as being self-indulgent, but it's dream like atmosphere with a brilliantly subtle background score almost makes it a meditative zen-like experience that has to be experienced.
What if 'The Last Samurai' was remade for the art-house audience, without the star billings, epic fights and epic scale, you'll get 'The Twilight Samurai'. In fact, The Twilight Samurai was made a year before the Tom Cruise starring Hollywood blockbuster, and has a common link in the form Hiroyuki Sanada, the lead man of The Twilight Samurai, who also played the role of a noble Samurai warrior Ujio in The Last Samurai.
The Twilight Samurai is directed by the Veteran Yoji Yamada, the man behind the Tora-San series of films which has about 48 installments. The movie is also the first of the acclaimed Samurai Trilogy by Yoji Yamada. The movie opened to widespread critical acclaim and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Feature Film category, but lost out to the French-Canadian film Les Invasions Barbares (Review). It did however win Film Awards in festivals across Asia, most notably an unprecedented 12 Japanese Academy Awards, and the Hong Kong Film Award.
The Twilight Samurairevolves around a petty Samurai, Iguchi Seibei, who's also a single parent having to take care of two young daughters and a senile mother on a paltry stipend, working as an accountant keeping stock of inventory. Yoji Yamada presents a very authentic portrayal of a 'ordinary' Samurai, a clear departure from the action-figures that Samurais are generally portrayed as on celluloid. Iguchi Seibei is tardy and wears dirty and torn Kimonos, and likes to rush home to his mother and daughters as soon as the day's work is over, earning him the nickname 'Twilight'.
Devoid of any grand ambitions, Iguchi Seibei's greatest pleasure in life comes from watching his young daughters grow. But he's also a 'great fighter'. His abilities are on display as he confronts the abusive ex-husband of his childhood sweetheart Tomoe (Rie Miyazawa), and challenges him to a duel. A short and brilliantly choreographed sword-fight is presented in a very authentic and de-glamorized manner; simply a re-enforcement of Yoji Yamada's intent to present a human drama stripped of usual Samurai fanfare.
It'd be a stretch to call Tomoe's and Seibei's yearning and undeclared love for each other in the movie as romantic. As Tomoe tries to become a part of Seibei's family by doing the household chores and spending time with his daughters, re-kindling their emotions, the pragmatic protagonist has to weigh the superior Samurai status of Tomoe's family when deciding on the offer of marrying her. Hiroyuki Sanadabrilliantly portrays the paradoxical hero, a Samurai with all the expected qualities of the medieval warrior class, but still being an antithesis of the Samurai legend.
As with all Samurai movies, the movie has a climactic duel between Seibei and a out-of-favor retainer (also a master swordsman) who's been asked to commit suicide by the new group of retainers who have assumed power after the death of the prefecture's lord, but refuses to do so. But the duel is more memorable for the heart-to-soul conversation between the two warriors than the actual fight. The Twilight Samurai is impeccable in it's subtlety. It's a gentle and humanistic depiction of a Samurai and the lives of those around him. Those expecting clash of Katanas and blood splatters are bound to be disappointed, for this is not a Samurai action movie, but the movie about a man, who happens to be a Samurai.
Connoisseurs of foreign cinema have often criticized Hollywood remakes for being commercial and made with profits as the sole intent rather than respect for the sensibilities of the original. Others however like to point them to great remakes like Scorsese's 'The Departed' inspired from the Hong Kong crime thriller trilogy Infernal Affairs and Tomas Alfredson's remake Let me In, with the Swedish vampire movie "Let the right one in" being the source inspiration. I, however, like to be more subjective and believe that it's the abilities of the film-maker to imbibe the aspects of the original into the remake, that made it so great to begin with, but at the same time adding your own touch to give the movie a life of it's own. In 2011 and 2012, we are looking at a very attractive line up of such remakes. Here are a few that have got me excited (and not).
One of the most awaited movies of the year by David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon tattoo might not even qualify as a remake but rather as a stand-alone adaptation of the first book from the best-selling 'Millennium Series' Trilogy by Steig Larsson. But given the success of the brilliant 2009 Swedish Adaptation of the same name (read review), one is likely to draw comparisons.
Will it Work - I am willing to bet by $21 fortune on it :)
Why - To begin with, it has David Fincher at the helm and James Bond himself as the investigative reporter Mikael Blomqvist. The original was special for it's edgy and bold narrative and brutal realism. If Se7en, Fight Club and Zodiac are anything to go by, Fincher is undoubtedly the best man for the job (if you have any doubts, just check out the trailer).
One of the key highlights of the original however was the superlative performance of Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander and I feel that young Rooney Maara will need to give the performance of her life to be simply considered good enough for a comparison. But then, who thought Heath Ledger's Joker would dare to laugh in the presence of Jack Nicholson.
Tell No One (2012)
An American remake of a successful French suspense-thriller based on a American novel. Interesting, isn't it.
Tentatively Scheduled for 2012, the remake of 'Tell No One" will be directed by Ben Affleck. Though he has seen his ups and downs as an actor, one cannot deny his brilliance behind the camera. His previous films like Gone, Baby Gone and The Town were brilliant to say the least. The French "Tell No One" by Guillaume Canet was successor for it's stylish execution of an immensely complex story and there's no denying that Ben Affleck's abilities as a director will be tested to its extreme. There are no details on the casting as of this writing.
Will it Work - Most Likely
Why - A New York Time's best seller as the source material (though it seems the movie will be more inspired from the french original rather than the novel) and Ben Affleck.
Ghost In the Shell (2011)
For the fans of Sci-fi movies, the successful Japanese anime with gratuitous animated nudity 'Ghost In The Shell' is one of the greatest ever and has a cult-classic status. Many of us also know Ghost in the Shell as the inspiration behind the Wachowski brother's The Matrix trilogy. Though 'The matrix' didn't really have the same plot-elements as 'Ghost in the Shell', it has a resemblance to the underlying theme. In 2008, Dreamworks acquired the rights of the movie and Steven Spielberg has mentioned it to be a passion project of his. The remake is intended to be a 3D live action movie and is slated for release in 2011 as per IMDB. I have my doubts though on the release date as a movie of such Epic scale and involving Steven Speilberg would have definitely made more headlines as we are already halfway through 2011.
Will it Work - 50-50.
Why - It was original at the time of it's release but may not feel as much now with "The Matrix" and other movies with similar themes. But then, Steven Spielberg is involved in the remake.
Oldboy (2012)
Y?Y?Y?
Despite my open-mindedness about remakes, if there's one movie that I think is a really bad idea to be remade, it's Oldboy. It was confirmed recently by Mandate Pictures that Spike Lee will be directing the remake though the movie will be based on a adaptation of the original Manga itself rather than Park Chan-Wook's version. This would mean no raw octopus for lunch for our hero or the incest-angle that was invented for the film.
Ran (乱) sees Kurosawa partner with Tatsuya Nakadai once again, his favourite leading man since the fallout with the great Toshiro Mifune. Tatsuya Nakadai plays the 70 years-old Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (inspired by King Lear) who decides to abdicate his throne and pass on the main authority to his eldest Son Taro, and with each son getting a castle. But the youngest and the Lord's favourite son Saburo isn't pleased with his father's decision. He considers it to be made in haste and pleads him to continue being the Lord in command. The open displeasure leads him to being banished by the Lord. Though it's a serene start, it sets the tone with the introduction of the main characters and the bright and vivid colors that Kurosawa uses skillfully to enhance the appeal of the settings.
