ThurstonHunger

I am old enough to recall hearing about this as an adaptation of King Lear when it came out.

Wasn't it also a sort of swan song/return/farewell to Kurosawa's earlier movies? Anyways for some reason I never saw it, so when one of my sons mentioned it the other day I was happy to rent it and watch it with him and his brother.

Watching in an actual theater might have enhanced the experience, sweeping panorama shots (horses surging across a stream, a distant army atop a faraway hill watching vulture-like as two other clans square off below, a castle in flames, and throughout clouds that seem to take direction from Kurasawa and dominate the screen.

Tatsuya Nakadai in the "Leer" role is so expressive with his face (and kudos to hair and make-up, the tones of blue/red/grey give a startling ghastly look). Add to that his physical work, moving between catatonic trance and then frightened insect prance at times. Very eerie, such a unique portrayal of dementia. When he speaks, and I would say the same for many of the royal family and their trusted fool, every line is hyper-dramatic and shouty. I guess they wanted operatic heights to scale the bulwarks of the fortresses or to make a rather simple story seem more charged, but it wore me out emotionally at times.

That said, the loyal lieutenant-like characters - I found their measured speech and decisive action highlighted them as the truly noble characters in the film. Speaking more sternly, and speaking truth to power - and not just the fox statue allegory scene. Meanwhile speaking of other more literal "characters," a minor point the subtitles were often lost in the background of the stunning cinematography. My son paused our viewing and looked to see if we could change the font color at one point.

Overall a grand spectacle that may have lost something in translation. Or not, a simple message of ashes to literal ashes, dust to blood-soaked dust comes through loud (despite all shouting ;>) and clear no matter how wealthy, or conniving you may be there is no escaping your fate. Even Buddha's blessing gets blown away.

Somehow this 2018 film bubbled up in the forefront of feeds for both my wife and I here in summer 2025. If it happens for you think twice before committing, the cutting and pacing of the trailer is far better than the actual film.

Ben Mendelsohn's apathetic ways are contagious, to those around in him in the film and to us the viewer. He's had some sort of epiphany to quit the rat race, and we hear him fumble half-heartedly through such a speech at a cocktail party early on in the film.

But half-hearted is as good as it gets. It's a bland coming of beige kind of film, with early retirement and erectile dysfunction and an omnipresent ennui that almost make drugs look appealing.

Edie Falco the actress and her character in here should have maybe worked on Holofcener for more focus on screen and in the story. I sense Falco was working nearly as hard as the search algorithm tuners to spark interest in this film.

Calling this a black comedy is an unfunny joke. Laughs are pretty rare. That said I can handle a subtle slice of life, but like the most engaging character in "The Land of Steady Habits," the movie keeps running away from a chance for something more poignant.

After really enjoying "Bird" I wanted to seek out more of Franz Rogowski (and the director as well). This movie was well-regarded, and I can almost imagine this served as his audition for the more recent "Bird."

His character here is again gentle although with a hint of something not quite creepy, but potentially menacing. The backstory gets told, and there is a lapse where his Christian character here falls back in with his old crowd.

But he's a fish out of water there, having been taken under the wing by father figure Bruno (and into the various secret places inside the superstore by Bruno as well).

A silent accord is developed between them, and a similarly hushed infatuation falls over Rogowski's character for the fair maid Marion.

That said I have a bone to pick with the marketing people for the DVD which include "Sweet and ineffably uplifting" and "Mines the magical in the mundane."

Did they see a version with Meg Ryan and I dunno Paul Rudd? Sure there is resilient humanity here, but this feels a lot closer to "Nomadland" or "Dancer in the Dark" than a walk in the park.

I did catch a hint of reunification blues (along with an actual soundtrack with blues and other evocative sounds). Bruno pines for his good ol' days as a truckdriver in East Germany, and Rogowski in the extras talked about East German humor/working class greetings and such. I wish I understood that better but it was stored way up high beyond my mental forklift capability.

Anyways, the film offers an almost invisible hug amidst the weary characters (often shot from way up high in this massive store giving it an almost prison-like feeling). No actual embracing, but meaningful silences and eye contact, and a few Eskimo kisses.