In Japanese, "Ran" means "chaos". A masterpiece of director Akira Kurosawa’s later career, sweeping samurai epic Ran is a staggering fusion of colour, motion and sound.
In 16th-century Japan, an ageing warlord divides his domain among his three sons - but none of them are happy about it.
Kurosawa directed his first film in 1943 and is perhaps best known for his earlier black-and-white films like Rashomon and Seven Samurai, the latter being the inspiration for The Magnificent Seven. But his later films like Kagemusha and 1985’s Ran make powerful use of colour.
Unlike many war films, Ran doesn't introduce us to the soldiers or explain the progress of each battle. Instead, we're shown a frenzy of death and depravity as masses of unknown and unsung soldiers are maimed and massacred. Each battle is a delirious hellscape with no heroes or victories.
The masterful editing reinforces the tragedy of the fighting, especially in the use of agonising repetition that forces you to watch men falling in agony and tumbling from horses over and over until it becomes almost unbearable.
Heightening the carnage is the tense, stark and foreboding score by Composer Tôru Takemitsu, making unsettling use of wood percussion, rumbling taiko drums and traditional Japanese flutes. One battle sequence plays out without any sound, the music lending pathos to the savagery.
The cinematic grandeur of Ran matches the richness of its themes. A bunch of rich kids freak out over whether their castles are big enough, and everyone has to fight and die.
It's a powerful tale of human ambition, betrayal and hubris, with subtle performances and rich characters locked in a compelling spiral of self-destruction. Rarely has chaos looked so good.
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