[7] Akahige - 'Red Beard' (1965)

Akahige - 'Red Beard' (1965)

In many ways great filmmaking is more about the environment than anything else. Take the 'The Shining' for example; from the magnificent overhead opening scene to the red carpeted hotel lobby and corridors to those final scenes among the snow and frost of the maze; the movie embraces and relies upon its environment to be a constant metaphorical underpinning for the whole story. And here is the secret to Kurosawa; he utilizes this better than anyone. The seasons and weather are more at play in Akahige than anything else. And the seasons reflect change through struggle which is the essence of this movie. A young doctor with pretensions of greatness is forced to work among the destitute and learns through a series of life lessons the value of humbleness and selflessness. The guiding hand all the while is the fiercely disciplined 'Red Beard' a healer, protector and warrior.

Our young doctor’s journey towards enlightenment and indeed his inevitable epiphany is never boring or clichéd as one might expect. Kurosawa employs a myriad of storylines told through the broken dreams of young girls ("She saw too much of the world at once") and improvised children to crack the indolent mans heart.
Mifune is commanding as our central protagonist and although he is only in the film for little over 30 minutes (of a total 180) he is never far from mind of scene. There has been much debate over physical abilities here, in particular the ease at which he dispatched a group of thugs protecting a brothel but criticism of this because of its lack of plausibility is redundant. The beginning of the movies clearly defines Akahige as a powerfully disciplined man who has assimilated into his nature many ancient arts. It is not beyond plausibility therefore that the gangs of thugs he dismantles (great sound effects here from The Master) are no match for him. It is a somewhat moot point but one that keeps cropping up among criticism of this otherwise flawless movie.


Kurosawas uses the rain and light beautifully here ensuring the redemptive road of our young disciple is back dropped with the surrounding parallels of nature and pure life. Akahiges character meanwhile is never overcooked; he never ventures into Mr. Miaghi territory as some kind of all knowing master, rather is content to lead by example passively beating our young doctor into submission that a selfless existence is a more rewarding one.


I have that heard that this movie was panned by American critics when it first appeared. I can only imagine that they simply 'didn't get it'. It is universally accepted as a masterpiece now although oddly, very few people I know have seen it. To counter this Red Beard has become a staple recommendation from this house. Buy the Criterion DVD, it's excellent.