05-12-2020, 11:15 AM
This is the last time Kurosawa directs Mifune, making this a melancholy occasion. To think that Kurosawa continued to direct through 1990, and Mifune acted through 1995. I haven't looked into the details, but they had a falling out during this production. I did read somewhere that when asked about Takashi Shimura, Kurosawa was effusive and unconditional in his praise. But when asked about Toshiro Mifune, he would hem and haw, nickpit him, before grudgingly granting his talent. I suspect their relationship was a less volatile version of Herzog and Klaus Kinski. But like I said, I haven't really looked into this.
So anyway, in his final performance under the direction of Kursosawa, Mifune plays Red Beard, a gruff but compassionate doctor at a small country clinic. The main character is actually Nobaru, a young med-school graduate expecting to be assigned as personal physician to a wealthy family; instead, he is sent into the boondocks to work under Red Beard. Red Beard appears cold and mean-spirited, and his credentials are questionable; Nobaru looks down on him and rebels in every possible way. But over time he starts to see a tremendous compassion under Red Beard's hard exterior.
This was Kurosawa's final black and white film (Mifune's red beard is seen as a dark shade of gray). The wide-screen compositions are amazing throughout. So many lengthy shots with camera movement, peppered with dialog and shifting emotions... Some actors are so young, and yet they do these long complex scenes that require so much speaking and nuance of acting.
Anyway, a rather somber film on social injustice, showing the tremendous suffering of the poor, sick and aged. It follows the experiences, and changing attitudes, of a whole group of people rather than being focused entirely on Red Beard, and I wonder if that was Mifune's problem. Or maybe it was the lack of action (it's a very sedentary role, though with one very notable fight scene).
So anyway, in his final performance under the direction of Kursosawa, Mifune plays Red Beard, a gruff but compassionate doctor at a small country clinic. The main character is actually Nobaru, a young med-school graduate expecting to be assigned as personal physician to a wealthy family; instead, he is sent into the boondocks to work under Red Beard. Red Beard appears cold and mean-spirited, and his credentials are questionable; Nobaru looks down on him and rebels in every possible way. But over time he starts to see a tremendous compassion under Red Beard's hard exterior.
This was Kurosawa's final black and white film (Mifune's red beard is seen as a dark shade of gray). The wide-screen compositions are amazing throughout. So many lengthy shots with camera movement, peppered with dialog and shifting emotions... Some actors are so young, and yet they do these long complex scenes that require so much speaking and nuance of acting.
Anyway, a rather somber film on social injustice, showing the tremendous suffering of the poor, sick and aged. It follows the experiences, and changing attitudes, of a whole group of people rather than being focused entirely on Red Beard, and I wonder if that was Mifune's problem. Or maybe it was the lack of action (it's a very sedentary role, though with one very notable fight scene).
I'm nobody's pony.