Ran (乱), which was released in 1985, is based on legends of the daimyo Mōri Motonari and the Shakespearean tragedy King Lear. This film was directed by the Japanese filmmaker Kurosawa Akira. The screenplay was written by Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni. This film is a jidai-geki (Japanese period drama). The title of this film, Ran, means chaos. This film makes us think about humanity, and how it is degenerated by war and power. This theme is illustrated through different characters, especially the two women in this film. They have similar experiences in the same conditions, but they have quite different personalities and values. The use of bright colors in this film makes the scene look like a living theatre, and also gives us a strong visual effect to strengthen our impression and understanding of this film.
This film is set during the age of feudalism in Japan. It is about sibling rivalry and the thirst for power in the Ichimonji clan. The great lord, Hidetora, leads the Ichimonji clan to gain control of a great deal of territory. When he feels he is old, he decides to abdicate and give control of his dominion to his eldest son, Taro; he also gives regional control of two smaller castles to his second son and third son, Jiro and Saburo. Taro and Jiro appear happy and supportive of this decision. Only the third son, Saburo, opposes this decision, and he even says his father is foolish because of this decision. Thus he is banished by his father. However, just after Hidetora abdicates, his eldest son’s wife, Lady Kaede, begins to play her husband against his father. Hidetora feels extremely disappointed in his eldest son and moves to the Jiro’s castle, but he receives the same treatment from his second son. Thus he sets up residence in the third castle, which is unoccupied because of Saburo’s departure, with his small army. Taro and Jiro join forces In order to destroy their father’s army and castle under Lady Keade’s guidance. Hidetora loses his entire army and begins a life of wandering with his court jester, the only other survivor. Jiro also takes this opportunity to kill his brother, Taro, and tries to become the ruler. In the final battle between Saburo and Jiro, Saburo comes to his father’s rescue. Lady Kaede has achieved her purpose but all the others lose everything in the end.
In this film, there are two women who have quite similar experiences and circumstances, and even their endings are the same. However they have very different personalities and lives. They are Lady Kaede, Taro’s wife, and Lady Sue, Jiro’s wife. Hidetora killed their parents and pushed them to marry his two sons. Facing their enemy, these two women treat him in very different ways; Lady Kaede seeks revenge against the entire Ichimonji clan by successfully playing her husband against her father. After her husband dies, she threatens Jiro with a knife in order to keep her position, and then she sucks the blood from the cut she made in his throat, successfully seducing him and becoming his mistress. She then forces him to kills his wife, Lady Sue, thereby obtaining her revenge and destroying the Ichimonji clan. She schemes to seek revenge against and destroy the Ichimonji clan. Before she dies, she says that she never regrets her actions; her purpose is to destroy the whole Ichimonji clan. She is just like a poppy which is beautiful but poisonous; she always sets herself in an advantageous position. Unlike Lady Kaede, Lady Sue is always a weak person. Although Hidetora forces her to marry Jiro after killing her parents, she treats her father-in-law quite differently. She is always peaceful and meek; facing her personal enemy, Hidetora, she is a filial daughter-in-law. She never hates him, and also tries to use Buddhism to influence and direct him. Facing her blind brother, she is a loving and caring sister. She is killed when she tries to recover her brother’s beloved flute. Her desire is to withdraw from public life and live in peaceful seclusion. She is the embodiment of virtue in this film. She is like a pure lotus, which grows up from the filthy mud without being polluted. Kurosawa reinforces the contrast between these two women through the settings where they appear. Lady Kaede always appears in the castle’s throne room, which shows her position and power in society. But Lady Sue always appears outdoors and alone except occasionally when she is with her blind brother and an attendant. It shows her powerlessness, and she exists on the margins of human society. In this film, Lady Kaede gives in to evil desires such as revenge while Lady Sue is able to remain unpolluted by power and war. These two women are like the same seeds that grow up in the same land, but blossom into different flowers.
Although this film is a tragedy, the color motif is bright. The scenery in this film is filled with a variety of colors most of the time. The contrast of colors is also very strong: Taro and his army are always presented in yellow; Jiro is red; Subora is blue; and Lady Kaede is white. Using these colors not only symbolizes the different characters’ personalities, but also enhances the visual effects of the film. For example, Jiro is presented in red, and his army also wears the red armor with red flags. The red colors look like blood, which represents bloodiness and violence; it also matches Jiro’s actions and his personality, which are bloody and violent. He joins his brother to fight and destroy his father’s army, and then he kills his brother to become the ruler. Moreover, the film also presents white clouds, blue sky, grass, dark castles, and soldiers dressed in colorful armor. These colorful scenes make the film look like a historical scroll painting, and also reflect the characters’ inner worlds and the development of the storyline. For example, clouds appear throughout the whole film, although there are only three scenes in which they are the focus. In the beginning of the film, Hidetora and his three sons are hunting in the paddock. They look like a harmonious family. Then the shot stops for a few seconds on the clouds. The clouds seem pure white, in slow motion, and dignified, but a few black clouds appear indistinctly in the white clouds, which seem to hint at the despair under the harmonious surface. And so Hidetora gives his power to Taro (who is an insincere and unfilial person), and banishes filial Saburo (who is his only filial son) and a loyal minster. Kurosawa also uses a feature of painting, the pure landscape, in making this film. He uses landscapes to fill up the scenes with the characters set in a small place. It can make a strong contrast between humans’ smallness and nature’s magnificence. In the last scene, Lady Sue’s blind brother stands alone on the top of the city wall. The painting of Buddha suddenly slides down to the city wall below from his hand. Meanwhile, the camera pans the shot; under the pale yellow background, the image of the blind brother grows smaller, until his silhouette almost blends into the background. This scene gives viewers a dismal, powerless and vacant feeling, as if the tragic fate will not stop with the ruin of the Ichimoji clan. The tragedy is like karma, which will continue forever.
In conclusion, this film was made by Kurosawa later in his career, and it is permeated with thoughts of humanism. It reveals humanity, and gives us heavy thoughts. In the end of the film, the only survivor is Tsurumaru, Lady Sue’s blind brother. Because he is harmless and ordinary, he survives. This film is filled with chaos, such as the jumbled battlefield, ethics, family and colors. In the chaos, the ugly aspects of humanity emerge; it brings to the audience many thoughts about the sadness of troubled times, frightfulness, and goodness of human nature, and the ridiculousness of history.