The viewing experience of any one classic film made by director Akira Kurosawa, the influential Japanese filmmaker, can elevate the viewer’s taste for cinema to a whole new level. He had been able to make not merely a couple, but dozens of classic films of high artistic and creative caliber. In an October 06, 1985 interview with Julia Cameron, Akira Kurosawa said that films are something that carry across to many different countries and are seen by many different kinds of people. In this sense, they have a tremendous power of communication (3). His films rarely fall short of excellence from any department, the compelling narratives to begin with and performance from top-notch ensemble cast staged in breathtaking sets and locations. His genius technique of capturing the scenes in dexterously blocked movements has produced some of the greatest and pivotal visuals in the history of cinema. A climax of a Kurosawa film is like a climax of no other film, concluding complex narratives with clear, clever and often painful justification. The perfectionism in his painterly eye enabled him to provide a wholesome expression to his shots with every single detail relevantly placed. Peter Wild writes in his book Akira Kurosawa that Kurosawa worked his way up through a studio system during which he was able to gain a thorough mastery of every field necessary in the production of a film (7). Even though each of his films differed vastly in style and quality, all of his films continued to have the same distinct character, which is the maker’s true mastery over the medium.
Kurosawa’s films are unique as he could successfully picture engrossing screenplays with shots rich in symbolic expressions. He was capable of holding the viewers’ attention until the end even with social dramas like Ikiru (1952) and Red Beard (1965), the two films where he extensively employs symbolism. The use of simplistic yet effective mise-en-scene techniques as an instrument of expression in majority of his shots enabled even the casual cinema-goer to grasp and appreciate the aesthetics of his films.
For instance, in the first act of Ikiru, Kanji Watanabe is inexplicitly informed by the doctor about his lung cancer. In the next scene, Kurosawa smartly uses sound, acting, location and camera movement to express Kanji’s feelings of devastation. The scene starts with a close-up of Kanji walking back home across what seems to be a very silent street. The sounds are muted until Kanji turns to cross the road from pavement when he suddenly awakens to the grueling noise of the traffic and a welding shop behind him. The camera pulls back to cover the entire scene in a wide shot, the automobiles blazing past in the foreground and the sparks from the welding shop in the background of a disheartened man.
In one important scene of Red Beard, Dr. Kyojō Niide says to his apprentice Dr. Noboru Yasumoto, “There is nothing solemn as a man’s last moments, so watch closely” before leaving him alone in the ward. Kurosawa places the dying old bed-ridden Rokusuke and Dr. Noburu sitting next to him in the same shot. A rhythmic action is created between Rokusuke who chokes and grunts sporadically and Dr. Noburu who tries to have a look at him several times before turning away in fear. A point of intensity is reached, and Rokusuke is taken off the screen as the shot now moves to capture Dr. Noburu rising from his position to get back as far away as possible from the dying man in the tiny ward. In the entire scene, Kurosawa successfully manages to express the unbearably grave fear of closely witnessing a natural death. Dr. Noburu doesn’t leave until a nurse arrives with an emergency call from another ward and the fear engulfs him even outside the ward as he lurks on his way to the emergency room.
In more than twenty films made in a career spanning over fifty years, Kurosawa has provided his take on a wide spectrum of themes. The most repetitive of them being the life and death, he dedicated his thirteenth film as director entirely to that particular theme and named it Ikiru (To Live in English). It is his attempt to redefine the meaning of life as an existence that transcends flesh. An existence also in the beloved memory of people. The most pivotal moment in the film is Kanji Watanabe’s eureka moment of discovering the purpose of his life in a restaurant where a birthday party is in progress. With the death from stomach cancer looming closer, the best he can do is to create something memorable. Kanji’s passing is mourned at his home in the scene that immediately follows. In the rest of the film, his colleagues involve in a discussion that reveals his accomplishment just before his death. Kanji outperforms himself and his fellow bureaucrats to convert a mosquito infested cesspool into a children playground. With this film, Kurosawa delivers a message that ‘to live’ is not just about living a walking life. Life can continue even after death, in the minds and hearts of our beloved people. In his September 29, 1996 review of Ikiru, Roger Ebert says that he has seen the film for every five years or so. He continues to write that “Each time it has moved me, and made me think. And the older I get, the less Watanabe seems like a pathetic old man, and the more he seems like every one of us.”
Red Beard may be the slowest of all Kurosawa films. A period drama about a head doctor named Dr. Kyojō Niide and his young apprentice Dr. Noboru Yasumoto who feels reluctant to serve in the general hospital. Michael Sragow writes in his June 2015 review of the film that Kurosawa somehow manages to imbue every moment of this three-hour-plus movie with the transcendent vitality and intelligence of a great Victorian novel. With themes such as poverty, sickness, death, role of a doctor and morality, it is no short of being an interesting and thought provoking work of drama. Under the law settled by the magistrate, Dr. Noburu is given no choice but to serve his full term in the general hospital. From one to another, he goes on experiencing the stories of patients in the general hospital. The tales are as terrible as that of the daughter of Rokusuke who becomes a victim of the affair between her lazy husband and her lustful mother. As dangerous as that of the insane daughter of an aristocratic merchant who has built a special ward in the general hospital where to keep her locked. As painful as that of Sahichi, a beloved man of the locality who reveals his tragic love story on his death bed. As brutal as that of a young woman from brothel who isn’t allowed to be taken to the hospital by her mistress. As pity as that of a young kid known to steal from the hospital kitchen, who along with his family members attempt suicide under the burden of poverty. Above all, the story of the head doctor himself, a compassionate soul beyond his irascible self, who takes advantage of the weakness in authority for the benefit of the poor and needy. Trailed by such experiences, Dr. Noburu is transformed and gives up his ambitions to serve as the shogunate’s personal physician. Inspired by the life of his mentor Dr. Kyojō Niide, he chooses to continue to work in the general hospital instead. Sragow says that Kurosawa’s dynamic yet intimate wide-screen filmmaking, practicality and empathy merge with psychoanalysis and even bits of magic. Kurosawa finally presents the conclusion as a difficult choice for someone who has been through a difficult experience, but the best choice for a man deeply affected by the woes of the poor and needy.
Kurosawa was the filmmaker who popularized the jidaigeki genre with a string of successful samurai films. Ran (1985), which was his last film in this genre, stands out from the rest of his jidaigeki films. He wasn’t any stranger to adapting work of Shakespeare, as one of his earlier films called Throne of Blood (1957) was an adaptation of Macbeth. Ran is entirely different as it was also his most ambitious project at the time. He started the production just after his recuperation time from a tough period in his life and also the time when he was crippled by old age. Indeed, as the uncompromising master that he is, Kurosawa did not let himself down when it came to making one more successful picture in the genre he most loved. It was also technically one of the most advanced films of its time. Johnathan Romney writes in his Guardian review that Kurosawa’s deployment of huge armies in vast landscapes displays a pre-digital mastery that we can only gasp at today. He also describes that the castle siege sequence where vivid visual details such as arrows flying, blood flowing, stage crimson are all the more magnificent for the distancing use of Tôru Takemitsu’s sombre orchestral score. The themes explored here are far more violent, brutal, gruesome and tragic than any films he had done before. His adaption of Shakespeare’s King Lear to his Japanese vision produces Hidetora Ichimonji, who is the most feared and hated warlord. Due to his aging, he decides to pass his reigns to his eldest son and divides the power between the three brothers. His foolishness in not welcoming the opinion of his youngest son wrings him in deep trouble as both his elder sons betray his confidence. Evicted from both the castles, he wanders out in the wilderness with his private army and advisor until he is trapped in the last castle where he loses everything under a massive attack from both armies. He is led to suffer a severe mental breakdown, and is rescued at last by Saburo. Just then, tragically, the Saburo is killed by a group of enemies in hideout. Hidetora dies in grief. Kurosawa contrasts this tragedy with that of the blinded prince Tsurumaru who in the last shot is left alone on the edge of cliff where he stumbles and accidentally drops the image of Buddha given to him by his sister. Kurosawa accurately depicts the tragic demise of complete peace in this hate fueled and power-thirsty run up to complete chaos.
Kurosawa had a successful career in the 40s, 50s and early 60s – the period during which he made most of his jidaigeki films. His early career can be illustrated by the widespread international acclaim for Rashomon (1950). He suffered a painful setback after the commercial failures of Red Beard and Dodes’ka-den (1970). Stephen Prince says in his book Akira Kurosawa-The Warrior’s in Cinema that following a spectacular career before the late 1960s, Kurosawa faced the threat of its imminent disintegration as he was plagued by ill-health and no film work. The severe depression he underwent in the early 70s receded into a suicide attempt which was aligned with a recognized cultural practice of self-immolation (3). Fortunately, his international acclaim and reputation won him financial backing from producers of Soviet, France and Hollywood to enable him to continue working on films. Dersu Uzala (1975) won him the Academy Award in the Best Foreign Film Category. Kagemusha and Ran turned out to be two of his most successful films, both in terms of commercial prospects and artistic endeavor. He continued making more meaningful films such as Rhapsody in August (1991) and Madadayo (1993) until his death in 1998. His films such as Rashomon, Seven Samurai (1954), Yojimbo (1961) and Ran have set a milestone in the history of cinema. Peter Wild says that Akira Kurosawa’s legacy continues to assert itself. There have been many remakes and reinterpretations of his films since his death in 1998 (7). His work will continue to inspire criticism, analysis, study and most importantly a new generation of filmmakers. As Steven Spielberg said, Kurosawa is one of the few true visionaries ever to work in the medium of film.
Works Cited
Prince, Stephen. The Warrior's Cinema: The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa. Princeton, NJ: Princeton U P., 1999. Print.
Cameron, Julia. "Japan Film Master Akira Kurosawa Weathers Winds Of Change." Chicago Tribune. Tribune Digital, 06 Oct. 1985. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Wild, Peter. Akira Kurosawa. London, GB: Reaktion Books, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 10 April 2016.
Ebert, Roger. "Ikiru Movie Review & Film Summary (1952) | Roger Ebert." RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC, 29 Sept. 1996. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Sragow, Michael. "Red Beard - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. Conde Nast Digital. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Romney, Jonathan. "Ran Review – Kurosawa's Masterful Epic Reissued." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 03 Apr. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2016.
Ikiru: To Live. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perf. Takashi Shimura. Toho, 1952. DVD.
Akahige. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. Perf. Toshiro Mifune and Yûzô Kayama. Kurosawa Productions, Toho Co., Ltd., 1965. DVD.
Ran. Dir. Akira Kurosawa. By Akira Kurosawa, Oguni Hideo, and Masato Ide. Prod. Serge Silberman and Hara Masato. Perf. Tatsuya Nakadai and Mieko Harada. Toho (Japan), Acteurs Auteurs Associés (France), 1985. DVD.
