THEMES
ANALYSIS OF THEMES
Kurosawa’s films share certain themes and techniques; during his career spanning five decades Kurosawa filmed 30 movies and analysis shows that there are elements and themes he consistently used. In other sections the elements of movement and framing are covered, this section is about the themes of his movies, which can be divided into four most common themes: the master disciple relationship, heroic champion, cycles of violence and depictions of extreme weather.
MASTER-DISCIPLE RELATIONSHIP
Shown mainly between a usually older mentor and one or more novices, which often involves spiritual as well as technical mastery and self-mastery. Many commentators have noted the frequent occurrence in Kurosawa’s work of the complex relationship between an older and a younger man, who serve each other as master and disciple, respectively. This theme was clearly an expression of the director’s life experience. “Kurosawa revered his teachers, in particular Kajiro Yamamoto, his mentor at Toho”, according to Joan Mellen. “The salutary image of an older person instructing the young evokes always in Kurosawa’s films high moments of pathos.
In his very first film, Sanshiro Sugata (1943), after the judo master Yano becomes the title character’s teacher and spiritual guide, “the narrative is cast in the form of a chronicle studying the stages of the hero’s growing mastery and maturity.” Sanshiro Sugata ( above to the right), explores the theme of a master and disciple, which is rooted in Japan’s history – honour, hard work, knowledge and wisdom being transferred. Framing also adds to the narrative, along with composition and wide shots as well as depiction of extreme weather which realtes to the turbulence of emotions and story.
According to the director’s biographer, in his final film, 1993’s Madadayo (to the right)—which deals with a teacher and his relationship with an entire group of ex-pupils—a sunnier vision of the theme emerges: “The students hold an annual party for their professor, attended by dozens of former students, now adults of varying age. This extended sequence expresses, as only Kurosawa can, the simple joys of student-teacher relationships, of kinship, of being alive.” The master-pupil relationship in the films of the postwar era—as depicted in such works as Drunken Angel, Stray Dog, Seven Samurai, Red Beard — involves very little direct instruction, but much learning through experience and example.
HEROIC CHAMPION
heroic character is shown usually thorough exceptional individual who emerges from the mass of people to produce something or right some wrong; Kurosawa’s cinema is heroic, a series of dramas concerned with the deeds and fates of larger-than-life heroes. Stephen Prince has identified the emergence of the unique Kurosawa protagonist with the immediate post-World War II period and the filmmaker himself remarked that, during this period, “I felt that without the establishment of the self as a positive value there could be no freedom and no democracy.” Heroic character is often supported by other elements of filming, such as specific movement, camera fixation, expressions, weather relating to the character…
Many commentators regard Seven Samurai as the ultimate expression of the artist’s heroic ideal. Joan Mellen’s comments are typical of this view: “Seven Samurai is above all a homage to the samurai class at its most noble.
Samurai for Kurosawa represent the best of Japanese tradition and integrity.” Kurosawa locates the unexpected benefits no less than the tragedy of this historical moment. The upheaval forces samurai to channel the selflessness of loyal service into working for peasants. However, this heroism is futile because “there was already rising … a merchant class which would supplant the warrior aristocracy.” So the courage and supreme skill of characters will not prevent the destruction of themselves or their class.
CYCLES OF VIOLENCE
The theme of violence had a beginning with Throne of Blood (below), and became nearly an obsession for Kurosawa According to Donald Richie, within the world of that film, “Cause and effect is the only law. Freedom does not exist.” and Prince claims that its events “are inscribed in a cycle of time that infinitely repeats.” He uses as evidence the fact that Washizu’s lord, unlike the kindly King Duncan of Shakespeare’s play, had murdered his own lord years before to seize power, and is then murdered in turn by Washizu for the same reason. “The fated quality to the action of Macbeth … was transposed by Kurosawa with a sharpened emphasis upon predetermined action and the crushing of human freedom beneath the laws of karma.”
DEPICTIONS OF EXTREME WEATHER
Weather is utilised both as dramatic devices and symbols of human passion. Nature is a crucial element in Kurosawa’s films. He has never hesitated to exploit climate and weather as plot elements, to the point where they become “active participants in the drama”. The oppressive heat in Stray Dog and I Live in Fear is omnipresent and becomes thematized as a signifier of a world disjointed by economic collapse and the atomic threat.” The director himself once said, “I like hot summers, cold winters, heavy rains and snows, and I think most of my pictures show this. I like extremes because I find them most alive.”
Wind is also a powerful symbol: The persistent metaphor of Kurosawa’s work is that of wind, the winds of change, of fortune and adversity. The visually flamboyant final battle of Yojimbo takes place in the main street, as huge clouds of dust swirl around the combatants, the winds that stir the dust have brought firearms to the town along with the culture of the West, which will end the warrior tradition. Another interesting mention is the example of snow, in the movie Ikiru (below). Main character is by himself on the swing, contemplating as snow falls around him and intensifyis the feeling of lonelines and unity with oneself.
It is also difficult not to notice the importance of rain to Kurosawa: Rain in Kurosawa’s films is never treated neutrally. When it occurs … it is never a drizzle or a light mist but always a frenzied downpour, a driving storm. The final battle in Seven Samurai is a supreme spiritual and physical struggle, and it is fought in a blinding rainstorm, which enables Kurosawa to visualize an ultimate fusion of social groups. Rain is an important element in Rashomon, as it intensifies the turbulence and chaos of the storyline. Another mention are the battle scenes where rain is used to highlight the importance and violence of the scene.
