It can be considered that you have finished watching "Shadow Warrior" (question: How come Akira Kurosawa's old movies are stuck one by one)
At first I thought it was a story of martyrdom, but after reading it twice, I didn't think so. The film uses a lot of third person to describe the role of Takeda Shingen rather than the shadow warrior. In the film, Xinxuan represents the unmoving belief, and in the first incident story of the film, the younger brother, who is the elder brother's substitute, is more calm than the elder brother when he learns that his ally has betrayed.
From the perspective of the film, whether Takeda Shingen, his younger brother or the shadow warrior who was originally a thief, they can't represent "Takeda Shingen". "Takeda Shingen" represents not just a person, but the beliefs that this name represents. His shrewd approach to military use, his unwavering will, and his belief that he wanted to plant the flag in Kyoto, these are the real "Takeda Shingen". It also became the Takeda Shingen in everyone's mind. Therefore, whether Shingen himself, his younger brother Shinlian, or shadow warriors, they are all shadow warriors of the will and belief of "Takeda Shingen". And this "Takeda Shingen" in the hearts of everyone, he is calm and alert, representing everyone's expectations. Therefore, Shingen, Shinren, Shadow and all the retainers of the Takeda family are followers of this belief.
When a character finally becomes a banner-like belief, that belief can even become a taller existence than the character itself. And all the followers in the movie are striving forward for this belief, and this may be the theme. (Personal opinion, if it is only regarded as a martyrdom journey, there are too many redundant parts in the film)
Director Akira Kurosawa's use of color is too strong. The very first color films showed an excellent use of color. Instead of using the high saturation of the armor, the flag was used to distinguish the four teams of Fenglin Volcano. (much better than the five-color team of the Great Wall)
Ps: A "Shadow Warrior", two films "Shadow" and "The Great Wall" were filmed by Zhang Yimou.
Shadows are inseparable from people. - Akira Kurosawa, "Shadow Samurai"
View more about Kagemusha reviews
