Kagemusha - 1980 - 4 Stars

Note: Major spoilers ahead.

I'm slowly working my way through the Kurosawa oeuvre - this is the sixth Kurosawa film I've seen. Like many of his films, this one is long and epic in scope, but unlike Ran or The Seven Samurai, it misses the mark. I give it 4 stars anyway because the visuals are unbelievably good, and the first half of the film is as good as any other Kurosawa picture.

What gets lost in this tale of feudal Japan may just be cultural. The dying lord Takeda orders that his death remain a secret; that a man who looks just like him be put in his place - why is this order carried out? It becomes obvious at once that having Takeda's double fulfill all his roles is impossible; his concubines are forbidden to touch him, he is unable to speak publicly, and so forth. Somehow this all comes off with only a few minor hitches, despite the fact that the fake Takeda is low-born and lapses into vulgar behavior any time he is away from anyone not 'in' on it. Yet accidentally it seems that the fiefdom is better off with the false Takeda. as neither he nor his advisors have any plans for war. This is in stark contrast to the other daimyos we see during the film, who are endlessly scheming.

The elements of the film don't come together right - we know that eventually his secret will be found out, and that eventually Takeda's double will die or be cast out; scene after scene unfolds with his advisors figuring out yet another way to disguise their lord's true identity.

More puzzling are the seeming allusions to Christianity throughout - from the double's impending crucifixion at the beginning of the film to the use of Christian missionairies as a physician to Tokugawa's distaste for red wine (brought to Japan by same). If I had to bet, I'd bet that the fake Takeda has 12 advisors, and that his 'son' is the Judas of the lot. What this all adds up to, I am not really sure.

By the end of the film, even Kurosawa realizes we are tired of endless carnage (or just could not stage the final scene properly). The end is tragic, but in a different fashion than traditional tragedy - Takeda's double willingly takes on the disguise in full awareness that he will either be found out or will no longer be useful. That he experiences brief joy with a grandson that is not actually his is not tragic; Kurosawa shows us that the life of a daimyo is always filled with loss.

So yeah, see this, but only after you've seen Ran, Rashomon, Yojimbo, The Seven Samurai, and Throne of Blood.