A.K.
Director: Chris Marker
Year Released: 1985
Rating: 3.0
Marker shows behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Ran in order to analyze the director's fastidious (although very polite) directing style and the strong sense of community among his (multitasking, harried) crew. You could argue that Marker's too reverential and that there's more filler in this than need be, but the opportunity to see one of the great essayists of the medium take on one of the movies' great "generals" is undeniably valuable. Kurosawa obsesses over the color of the fields, rehearses constantly with his actors and does battle with the conditions: nobody ever said the job was easy, but it certainly can be rewarding.
