1985’s Ran, written and directed by famed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, is one of the last films to be shown this semester as part of the Cinema’s Kurosawa Centennial series. This is fitting, as it was one of Kurosawa’s last films, and is often hailed as his masterpiece.

Ran is Japanese for “Chaos” or “Revolt.” Initially, this title may appear misleading, for the film opens on a very peaceful note. A party of lords and their subjects sit and enjoy tea in a field after a day of hunting; the sky is blue and vast, extending far outside the frame.

The tone of the gathering changes abruptly, however, when Hidetora Ichimonji, a lord and the head of the powerful Ichimonji clan announces that he is to abdicate his throne. He gives his eldest son Taro the title of Great Lord and gives him his first castle. He bestows upon his second son Jiro his second castle, and gifts his third castle to his youngest son, Saburo. 

Saburo is the only one upset by this declaration, and protests. He argues that his father must continue to rule, and that his elder brothers’ flattery and promises of faithfulness and unity are empty. Outraged, Hidetora banishes him, along with an advisor who implores Hidetora to listen to Saburo. 

While Saburo’s objections may at first appear the ravings of a jealous boy, as the story unfolds, he is redeemed. His predictions come to be. The rest of the film is a story of betrayal, and of family discord and destruction. 

The story is not fully based on Shakespeare’s King Lear, but takes some inspiration from the tragedy, and Shakespeare buffs will find many similarities between the ill fated, foolish Lear, and Kurosawa’s fallen Hidetora. One major difference, however, and one that ultimately makes Kurosawa’s film much more than just a Shakespeare adaptation, is the moral ambiguity that surrounds his protagonist. 

We quickly learn that during his rule Hidetora was a vicious, unforgiving warlord, who ruined the lives and lands of many. Indeed, many of the ills that befall him are explicit retribution. His manipulative daughter-in-law poisons Taro and turns him against Hidetora. After they have successfully driven Hidetora from the first castle, she proclaims her happiness. Finally, she is the mistress of the castle that once belonged to her family before Hidetora conquered it. The castle that Hidetora ravaged — the castle that witnessed the ritual suicide of her mother, and the murders of her father and brothers — is now hers. 

Along the way we encounter others whom Hidetora wronged. And the more he is confronted by his past, the madder he becomes. He is constantly plagued by demons and phantoms. He even appears to recede into this spectral world, for as the movie progresses Hidetora comes to resemble a phantom himself.  The pale, ghostly Hidetora at the end of the film is almost unrecognizable as being one and the same as the robust Hidetora from the opening scene. 

As Sué, the wife of his second son, and a character also wronged by Hidetora, says in the middle of the film, “Everything is determined from previous lives … In all things I take comfort in the Buddha’s heart.” While the movie does not address past lives, the issue of karma is clearly one that lies at the heart of Hidetora’s portrayal. But are we to feel pity for Hidetora when his first and second son both turn on him? 

As an audience, we are unsure where our sympathies lie.

Ran may not appeal to all. Kurosawa, the master of the samurai film, does not spare his audiences from scenes of bloodshed. Though, it is important to note that none of the violence is unnecessary. Without the scenes of violence the power and drama of Kurosawa’s tale would be lost. And as a master of the visual even the most gruesome of scenes are tinged with an eerie sort of beauty.