From "The Wild Dog" to "Ran", Kurosawa has watched ten or so movies on and off, almost finishing his best movies. Generally speaking, I treat him as a textbook director. For example, if I recommend others to watch a black and white film for the first time, I would choose Kurosawa Akira. In a sense, his movies are easy to understand, "Seven Samurai", "Wild Dog", "Desire of Life", no matter what type of movie, the camera in his hands can always surprise and satisfy people. Even better than popcorn movies.
Of course, Kurosawa's ambitions go beyond making "good-looking" movies. "Spider's Nest" can be said to be a prelude to "Ran", showing the cruel power struggle, "Rashomon" reflects the life of the lower class in ancient Japan. From farmer to daimyo, Kurosawa presents a picture of ancient Japanese. In these movies, even evil is beautiful. This beauty comes from the tragic death and the human spirit sublimated from struggle-greed, jealousy, and arrogance. Although this beauty comes from realism, it itself is fictional. What the director shows is the rough reality that has been adjusted, and gradually guides the audience to focus on the spirit behind the reality in the conflicts of each drama.
Movies such as "Seven Samurai" bring hope, five cents of pleasure. Of course, this is not a kind of derogation. Hope is one of the most precious qualities. Only with hope can there be a tough life in despair. If there is no hope, the lower class will lose the possibility of displaying other qualities. In the face of complete despair, all actions are but animal struggles. Movies such as "Chaos" bring the art of human nature. People show themselves in action, whether they are stupid or omniscient, whether they are cruel or weak. On the one hand, these films have a strong sense of stage, that is, the obvious performance. On the other hand, these performances resonate with the audience all the time.
There is another genre in Kurosawa's movies, that is, "Leftists", such as "Xiaoxu Without Seasons". It is difficult for you to describe this type of movie with realism. On the one hand, it is by no means a “boring record” of the lower classes such as labor. On the other hand, these movies are boring to death in modern popcorn movies. Yes, you can understand what the director wants to express, but these things make you feel like that when they are shown, especially for the people in it. The first time I was tortured by such a movie was "Geta Tree", and the second time was "Rosetta" (seeing how much Palme d’Or likes this kind of film).
How can hope, humanity and realism be combined in one movie? "Slacker Sleeper" is a perfect answer.
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