[Quick Summary: A thief who resembles a samurai warlord is drafted into becoming his body double during a time of war.]
BAD NEWS: I find Kurosawa scripts to be very dense.
Also, I have difficulty seeing on the page what he saw in his head.
GOOD NEWS: I never have trouble locating the premise/central story question/promise that he makes with the audience.
Why? Because there is defined unity, i.e., everything points to the central question.
In the example below, the warlord Shingen gives an urgent speech from his sick bed. No one knows that it will also be his death bed.
Notice how the writers use the speech to instruct the men and to lay out the stakes:
ex. "*A ROOM IN THE TEMPLE
Arm rest on bedding. Shingen, with white bandage on chest, sits and leans on the arm rest. From his posture and expression, it can be seen that his condition is far from good. [The big man is ill while at war with other warlords. What will happen?]
Darkened expressions on faces of Katsuyori, Baba, Yamagata, Kosaka, Oyamada and others surrounding Shingen. [Reaction of gloomy followers.]
SHINGEN: It is regrettable. I guess I will not see the Takeda flag fly in the capital.
KATSUYORI (impatiently): Father, what are you saying...
SHINGEN: Don't get excited. It has been my lifelong dream to place the Takeda flag in the capital. But, if I should die now, do not dwell on this dream of mine. If it is known that I've departed, Oda, Tokugawa and other enemies will rush into our domain. Do not reveal my demise for three years and guard the domain well. Do not make a false move. If my orders are not observed an you move our soldiers in vain, it will mean the end of the Takeda clan. Listen well, all. This is my last will. [This is the promise of the film: Why do our heroes go to extremes to create and protect a false double of Shingen? To protect the clan. To carry out his dying wishes. The rest of the film will answer: Do they succeed?]
Nobody speaks. Shingen, with extreme exhaustion and changed face, laughs deliriously and with bright eyes.
SHINGEN: This Shingen is not dead yet. I've spoken as I did because of the one in the a million chance that I should go. No, I won't die.
But these words give an impression of impending death to all present. Heavy air sets in."
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Keep the premise/ central story question/promise clear in the story.
If you wander from it, you will have confusion and lack unity.
Kagemusha (1980)
by Akira Kurosawa & Masato Ide
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