Blind Spot 2013: Red Beard

Based on a collection of short stories by Shugoro Yamamoto as well as Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Insulted and the Injured, Akahige (Red Beard) is the story about a tumultuous relationship between a doctor and his young trainee in the 19th Century. Directed by Akira Kurosawa and screenplay by Kurosawa, Masato Ide, Ryuzo Kikushima, and Hideo Oguni, the film explores the complexity of a man trying to teach a younger man about what it means to be a doctor. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Kyoko Kagawa, and Takashi Shimura. Akahige is an incredibly rich film from Akira Kurosawa.

In being a doctor, one has to think about the person in need of help instead of thinking for itself. In this film, it is about a young medical student from the city who finds himself working under the tutelage of a clinic director in a small yet poor town. For this young man who arrives as an idealist who had been trained in the best schools, being in a clinic in a poor part of town seems beneath him. Yet, he goes into great lengths into what it takes to be not just a doctor but a man people can count on. Notably in the encounters with death and such that would force this young man to realize what is right while he would make decisions that would be beneficial in the path he takes whether it would be the right one or not.

The film’s screenplay does have a traditional structure of sorts in the way it plays to the evolution of Dr. Noboru Yasumoto (Yuzo Kayama) and his understanding of what it really means to be a doctor. The first act involves his first meeting with the head of this clinic in Dr. Kyojo Niide aka Red Beard (Akira Kurosawa) who is this very compassionate individual who puts his patients first instead of himself as he’s also a bit of an eccentric with who has rules about how he runs the clinic. Dr. Yasumoto’s journey under Red Beard’s tutelage would play for much of the film’s first and second act where Dr. Yasumoto finds himself taking part in a surgery and watch two old men on their deathbeds. While Dr. Yasumoto does struggle with his environment as well as the fact that he’s working in a clinic that is going through budget cuts while many of the patients are very poor.

One key moment in the film’s second act is when Dr. Yasumoto walks into town with Red Beard where examines various people with Dr. Yasumoto’s help where they come across a brothel that included a sick and troubled 12-year old girl named Otoyo (Terumi Niki) who becomes Dr. Yasumoto’s first patient. Through Red Beard’s guidance, Dr. Yasumoto finds himself dealing with this troubled young girl as he has to go into methods that forces him to stray away from what he’s been taught from schools and go directly into the person. It would become a key moment in Dr. Yasumoto’s character development as well as this young girl who starts to become part of this clinic while befriending a young thief. While Dr. Yasumoto is groomed to become an assistant for a more renowned doctor in the city, he finds himself pondering about the decision he’s to make. While the outcome is somewhat predictable, it really more establishes into the kind of person Dr. Yasumoto has become through Red Beard.

Akira Kurosawa’s direction is absolutely engaging in the way he presents life in late 19th Century Japan as it is in a state of transition where things are changing as it involves themes ranging from existentialism, old ideas versus new, and humanism. While Kurosawa puts a lot of these themes into the forefront of his film, he does it with an air of subtlety as he knows that the audience is in for something that will have them go into discussions. Some of it is done with a lot of tenderness not just in the framing where Kurosawa uses the widescreen format to such effect. It’s also shown in small, simple moments such as moments where characters are interacting outside where the doctors and nurses all come together as if they are a family. A bit dysfunctional at times but a family that treats those who are sick with great care. The patients themselves may be those who are poor and neglected but Red Beard always find ways to tend to their needs.

A lot of Kurosawa’s approach to framing is very unique in the way he puts actors in a group shot whether it involves three or four people or a large group. A lot of it is done with some medium shots and close-ups in order to maintain an air of intimacy. There is also an interesting sequence in which a dying patient named Sahachi (Tsutomu Yamazaki) recalls about his past involving the love of his life and how he presumed to have lost her. It is an entrancing sequence that would play to Dr. Yasumoto’s development while there is also a scene that proves that as caring as Red Beard is. He’s also someone who is willing to fight for what is right such as beating up a gang of bandits with his bare hands just to help out this young girl. There are also some stylistic moments in not just Kurosawa’s use of tracking shots but also in his editing as he uses some dissolves, transition wipes, jump-cuts, and fade-outs to help flesh out the story and play out some of its drama. Overall, Kurosawa creates a truly heartfelt and powerful drama about life and helping those in need.

Cinematographers Asakazu Nakai and Takao Saito do brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to capture some of the beauty of the exterior scenes in the winter to more dreary scenes in Sahachi‘s story that includes some entrancing lighting by Hiromitsu Mori that adds an atmosphere to some of the film‘s interiors and nighttime exterior scenes. Art director Yoshiro Muraki does excellent work with the set pieces from the look of the clinic and some of its exteriors as well as the more polished look of Dr. Yasumoto‘s family home. The sound by Shin Watari is fantastic for some of the chilling moments of the film including a scene where Otoyo and the nurses call a boy‘s name through a well. The film’s music by Masaru Sato is just intoxicating for its serene yet somber orchestral score to play up the drama that is happening along with a few moments that are upbeat as it’s really a mesmerizing score.

The film’s cast is just amazing as it features appearances from Takashi Shimura as a medical administrator, Kyoko Kagawa as a troubled woman who is quarantined by Red Beard, Miyuki Kuwano as the head nurse of the clinic, Yoshio Tsuchiya and Tatsuyoshi Ehara as a couple of doctors in the clinic, Reiko Dan as a nurse who is taking care of the quarantined woman, Kamatari Fujiwara as the ailing Rokusuke, Akemi Negishi as Sahachi’s wife Okuni, and Tsutomu Yamazaki as the ailing yet generous local Sahachi. Terumi Niki is wonderful as the troubled 12-year old girl Otoyo as she discovers a world where there is such thing as good in the world.

Yuzo Kayama is marvelous as Dr. Noburo Yasumoto as a young man who arrives as an arrogant man who felt disrespected by going into a clinic only to realize the demands is needed to be a doctor. Finally, there’s Toshiro Mifune in a phenomenal performance in the title role as a man who is filled with great sensitivity and patience to those he helps while guiding Dr. Yasumoto by showing him what takes to be there for those in need as it’s one of Mifune’s finest performances of his career.

Akahige is an outstanding film from Akira Kurosawa that features a tremendous performance from Toshiro Mifune. The film is definitely one of Kurosawa’s exquisite works as well as one of his most enduring dramas that explores a man guiding a younger man into displaying the attributes to be a doctor. It’s a film that showcases the goodness of what humanity can bring despite the cruel circumstances these characters go into as it unveils a side of Kurosawa that isn’t seen much in his films. In the end, Akahige is a touching yet exhilarating film from Akira Kurosawa.

Akira Kurosawa Films: (Sanshiro Sugata) - (The Most Beautiful) - (Sanshiro Sugata Pt. 2) - (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail) - No Regrets for Our Youth - (Those Who Make Tomorrow) - (One Wonderful Sunday) - Drunken Angel - (The Quiet Duel) - Stray Dog - Scandal (1950 film) - Rashomon - The Idiot (1951 film) - Ikiru - The Seven Samurai - (I Live in Fear) - Throne of Blood - (The Lower Depths (1957 film)) - The Hidden Fortress - The Bad Sleep Well - Yojimbo - Sanjuro - High and Low - Dodesukaden - Dersu Uzala - Kagemusha - Ran - Dreams (1990 film) - (Rhapsody in August) - (Madadayo)

© thevoid99 2013

The Sword of Doom

Based on the novel by Kaizan Nakazato, Dai-bosatsu Toge (The Sword of Doom) is the story about a disgraced samurai who works as a hitman for various groups only to be pursued by a man whose brother was killed by this samurai. Directed by Kihachi Okamoto and screenplay by Shinobu Hashimoto, the film is an exploration of a samurai whose lust for violence and competition leads him into a path of destruction where he would descend into madness. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Yuzo Kayama, Michiyo Aratama, and Toshiro Mifune. Dai-bosatsu Toge is a chilling yet mesmerizing film from Kihachi Okamoto.

In the world of the samurai, there are rules that one has to live by while contests are settled with an air of respect. For the film’s protagonist in Ryunosuke Tsukue (Tatsuya Nakadai), he is a very skilled samurai with an unorthodox style but is also amoral and seems to care less at who he kills. After coercing a man’s wife to sleep with him and later kill that man in a duel, he becomes disgraced as he and the woman known as Hama (Michiyo Aratama) live in another town as outcasts while he works for money to kill people for local lords. Yet, he would encounter a revered master in Shimada Toranosuke (Toshiro Mifune) who is aware of Tsukue’s reputation as well as the fact that Tsukue is being pursued by the brother of the man he had killed years before. Eventually, all of Tsukue’s demons would come into place as he loses control of his emotions and the reputation that he’s known for.

Shinobu Hashimoto’s screenplay definitely explores a man who is defined by his sword and skills as a samurai warrior but also someone who is notorious for his actions as he basically kills whoever for no reason. Notably in the film’s beginning as he kills an old man who is praying to Buddha while he later kills another man without remorse. Tsukue is a very complicated individual who respects his role as a samurai but is also one that is very dangerous and not willing to be emotional about anything. Even in the way he gets Hama to sleep with him in order to disgrace her as she ends up marrying him and raising their child as she tries to regain whatever sense of respect she has. Even as she becomes a woman trying to run a business where she gets a young woman into some trouble prompting her uncle to deal with Hama’s carelessness.

While Tsukue seeks money to kill for whoever and find someone who can be a worthy opponent, he is also seeking the brother of the man he had killed the year before. Particularly as he feels that he can kill him with ease but what he doesn’t know is that this young man is being guided by Toranosuke who is this revered and skilled swordsman. Yet, these two men would have an encounter but it would be something where a revelation is unveiled that could allow for one to have the advantage over his opponent. The aftermath of this encounter would leave Tsukue troubled where he would deal with people he’s working for but also those he is unknowingly connected to in the actions that he committed in the span of two years.

Kihachi Okamoto’s direction is very intense in the way he presents not just the duels but also some of the film’s dramatic moments. Notably as Okamoto uses the widescreen format to create these gorgeous compositions of a period in time where things are changing in the world of the samurai. Many of the dramatic moments are often presented in simplistic tones while Okamoto use tracking shots to present some kind of movement or close-ups to intensify the drama. Even as there’s some unique framing devices in the way Okamoto places the actors in a shot and allows that shot to say something about where these characters are. Even in the way Okamoto builds suspense to emphasize something that is about to happen that would advance the story or play to a character’s motivation.

For the duel scenes, Okamoto uses the widescreen format to create these eerie shots of where the actors are placed in the frame. It is all about this slow build-up in the duel to see who will strike first. When it involves group fighting against one, the action is more intense where it is about one trying to fight for his life. What is more startling about the action is the gruesome nature of the violence as there’s blood and body parts being cut off. Even to people who aren’t violent as they become victims of this violence as it gets more intense in the film’s climax in terms of what is presented and the power of it. Notably where it is preceded by this strange sequence that plays to Tsukue’s sins of the past in something that is just surreal but also visceral in what is later presented. Overall, Okamoto creates a truly gripping yet harrowing film about madness and the actions that define the life of a troubled samurai.

Cinematographer Hiroshi Murai does brilliant work with the film‘s black-and-white photography to capture some of the brooding aspects of the locations along with some entrancing interior settings including the film‘s climax. Editor Yoshitami Kuroiwa does great work with the editing to play out the suspense with slow, methodical cuts while using more rhythmic cuts to establish the cruel nature of the film‘s violence. Art director Takashi Matsuyama does terrific work with the set pieces from the look of the homes and places to re-create the world of the early 1860s. The sound work of Shin Watari is fantastic for the mood it creates in some of the film‘s quieter moments along with the layer of sounds in a very chilling scene where Tsukue is haunted by these demons. The film’s music by Masaru Sato is amazing for its mixture of eerie, percussive-based music and more ominous string pieces to play out the dark mood of the film.

The film’s cast is phenomenal as it features small yet noteworthy performances from Kei Sato as Tsukue’s boss, Ichiro Nakatani as Hama’s first husband Bunnojo whom Tsukue killed in a duel, Yoko Naito as the young woman Omatsu who works for Hama as she is later sold to a lord, and Ko Nishimura as Omatsu’s uncle who is a man with very little fear as he later aids Bunnojo’s brother Hyoma. Yuzo Kayama is excellent as Bunnojo’s younger brother Hyoma who seeks vengeance over Bunnojo’s death while trying to figure out how to defeat Tsukue. Michiyo Aratama is wonderful as the anguished Hama who deals with the mistakes she made to save her husband only to be with Tsukue as she descends further into disgrace while desperate to save whatever grace she had left.

Toshiro Mifune is brilliant in a small yet crucial role as the master swordsman Toranosuke Shimada as a man who knows every technique in the art of sword fighting while guiding Hyoma into how to approach someone like Tsukue as he would later have an encounter with Tsukue about what it takes to be a great samurai. Finally, there’s Tatsuya Nakadai in an incredible performance as Ryunosuke Tsukue where Nakadai displays a haunting performance as an amoral samurai who is all about killing only to realize that he might not be as invincible while facing the demons that are surrounding him.

Dai-bosatsu Toge is a dark yet captivating film from Kihachi Okamoto led by the masterful performances of Tatsuya Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune. The film is definitely among one of the key films of the samurai genre as well as engrossing story about a man’s descent into madness. In the end, Dai-bosatsu Toge is a remarkable film from Kihachi Okamoto.

Kihachi Okamoto Films: (Sengoku Yaro) - (Samurai Assassin) - (Kill!) - (The Human Bullet) - (Red Lion) - (Zaitochi Meets Yojimbo) - (Battle of Okinawa) - (Blue Christmas) - (Rainbow Kids) - (East Meets West)

© thevoid99 2013

Sanjuro

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/8/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa with a script he co-wrote with Ryuzo Kikushima and Hideo Oguni, Sanjuro is the story of a samurai warrior who helps a group of young, hapless samurai warriors rescue their master from a rival. The film is a continuing exploration of the character's anti-hero status from Yojimbo while teaching young men about honor and such as well as the role of samurai as he's once again played by Toshiro Mifune. Also starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Keiju Kobayashi, and Yuzo Kayama with appearances from Takashi Shimura and Yunosuke Ito. Sanjuro is an entertaining film from Akira Kurosawa and company.

When a Chamberlain (Yunosuke Ito) has been kidnapped in a feud against a superintendent over a false crime, a group of young, hapless samurai warriors led by Iori (Yuzo Kayama) try to figure out what to do where they find a samurai named Sanjuro sleeping in their home. The old, grizzled warrior hears their plans and is convinced that it won't work at all. When the superintendent known as Kikui (Masao Shizmu) arrives with his army, the young warriors are scared only until Sanjuro managed to defeat some in front of the Kikui. With the superintendent's army now retreating as they take care of the Chamberlain at the home of friend Kurofuji (Takashi Shimura), the young warriors try to plan to retrieve the Chamberlain, who is at Kurofuji's home along with his wife (Takako Irie) and daughter (Reiko Dan).

Realizing that Kikui has a smart warrior named Muroto (Tatsuya Nakadai) who is leading the army, Sanjuro is aware that plans has to be made to save the Chamberlain's wife and daughter. When the plan succeeds along with a hostage (Keiju Kobayashi), they learn about the superintendent's plan to make the Chamberlain sign a confession. With Sanjuro's patience at the incompetence of Iori and his men, he decides to join Kikui, where his real intention is to become a spy. With Iori and a few of his men tried to find out what's going on, they got captured as Sanjuro plays a game of wits against Muroto. After killing some more samurai and pretending to have been attacked, he finds where the Chamberlain is but the plan is too risky. With a suggestion from the Chamberlain's wife about camellias, Sanjuro concocts a plan that could make or break everything he and his young warriors work for.

While the character of Sanjuro is essentially an anti-hero with no moral justification, in this film, there is a bit of moral justification when he's dealing with the idea of killing as he is confronted somewhat by the Chamberlain's wife. It's noteworthy in the film's ending that is probably the most memorable scene of the entire film. While it's no doubt Sanjuro is a fine film, it lacks the psychological tone of its predecessor Yojimbo and is replaced more with humor. While the humor works, it does make the film a bit disjointed with its script. Particularly in the lack of development in Iori and his warriors who seem eager to fight but don't have a gift of strategy or the idea of honor that Sanjuro has. Even in the end, they still don't understand Sanjuro's role following the climatic event involving the Chamberlain.

While the script is excellent for the most part, Kurosawa's direction is still intoxicating from his presentation of tension and theatrical-like feel in the acting. While some of the humor works to convey the young samurai's immaturity, it's the drama and action that really gets exciting. The film in some ways is a bit more accessible than Yojimbo in its fight scenes and humor. Yet, it lacks the cohesiveness of Yojimbo. Still, with Kurosawa's stylish editing and intense direction with a look that's darker and eerie, Kurosawa definitely has a tone that is dark and more in the tradition of samurai films. Overall, despite the film's flaws, Kurosawa's solid direction keeps it from being boring.

Cinematographers Fukuzo Koizumi and Takao Saito do amazing work in the film's black-and-white presentation, notably the night-time exterior sequences with very little light in those scenes to convey the sense of tension and action in the Kurofuji's home that is extremely intoxicating in every frame. The interior sequences are also brilliant for its compositions and set-ups where it plays up to the film's theatrical style. Longtime production designer Yoshiro Muraki does great work in the film's look, notably the homes of the Chamberlain that is in traditional, 19th Century Japanese homes as well as the exterior sequences that includes wonderful camellias in those exterior settings. Sound recordists Wataru Konuma and Hisashi Shimonaga do great work in capturing the film's tension and fight sequences to convey the sense of action.

Longtime music composer Masaru Sato does an amazing job with the film's score filled with layers of percussions and traditional Japanese string instruments undercut with a great orchestral score. Sato's score also has a great theme that is comical in some aspects to the film's title character while some of the music is played to convey the sense of action and tension as Sato's score is amazingly brilliant.

The film's cast is excellent in a lot of respects with performances from Akira Kubo, Kenzo Matsui, Hiroshi Tachikawa, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Kunie Tanaka, Tatsuyoshi Ehara, and Tatsushiko Hari as the samurai warriors who try and plan to rescue the Chamberlain though they're not entirely memorable individually. The smaller performances of Kurosawa regulars Takashi Shimura as Kurofuji and Yunosuke Ito as the Chamberlain are great in their respective roles. Takako Irie is excellent as the Chamberlain's sympathetic, moralistic wife who might not be very intelligent but has a good heart while Reiko Dan is good as the daughter who has a love for camellias. Masao Shizmu is superb as the corrupt Kikui while Keiju Kobayashi is funny as the hostage who tries to help the samurai warriors while unwittingly joins in their little celebrations. Yuzo Kayama is excellent as the naive Iori, a young samurai who thinks he knows what to do but his immaturity and inexperience shows his flaws as he is a memorable and interesting character in the film.

Kurosawa mainstay Tatsuya Nakadai is brilliant as the dark but intelligent Muroto who is an equal to Sanjuro in many respects as a samurai who has a gift for strategy while often telling his superiors what they should do and such. Nakadai's performance is very memorable that is almost as good as his previous role in Yojimbo as another equal of Sanjuro. Toshiro Mifune gives another magnificent performance as the grizzled Sanjuro with his cynical viewpoint and his skills as a warrior. Unlike his previous performance in Yojimbo as the same character, there's a bit of morality to his role when he deals with killing as if he seems tired of being a samurai while trying to teach the young men about honor and such. Mifune's performance is just brilliant through and through as he carries the film with such ease and humor while showing that he is one of cinema's quintessential badasses.

While Sanjuro doesn't quite rank with several of Akira Kurosawa's films including Yojimbo, it's still a must-see film from the legendary auteur with another winning performance from Toshiro Mifune in the title role. This film is no doubt a more entertaining feature than its predecessor while it's one of the director's more accessible films. It's definitely one of the director's essential films among his fans yet with Yojimbo, it would make a very interesting double-feature from the revered auteur. In the end, for a film that has lots of violence, humor, and entertaining values, Sanjuro is the film to see.

Akira Kurosawa Films: (Sanshiro Sugata) - (The Most Beautiful) - (Sanshiro Sugata Part II) - (The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail) - No Regrets on Our Youth - (One Wonderful Sunday) - Drunken Angel - (The Quiet Duel) - Stray Dog - Scandal (1950 film) - Rashomon - The Idiot (1951 film) - Ikiru - The Seven Samurai - (I Live in Fear) - Throne of Blood - (The Lower Depths (1957 film)) - The Hidden Fortress - The Bad Sleep Well - Yojimbo - High and Low - Red Beard - Dodesukaden - Dersu Uzala - Kagemusha - Ran - Dreams (1990 film) - (Rhapsody in August) - (Madadayo)

© thevoid99 2012