A.K. (1985)

Director: Chris Marker

Writer: Chris Marker

Production: Greenwich Film Productions, Herald Ace, Nippon Herald Films

     This is a visual commentary on Kurosawa Akira. Not about a specific work of him nor his general methodology of filmmaking but about his uniqueness as an auteur. Chris Marker follows the trajectory of production of Ran, Kurosawa's film in 1985. He does not begin his documentary on the first day of production. Nor does he conclude it at the end of the production. He only focuses on a few days during which Kurosawa shot spectacle scenes, which might have been the harshest part, in Mount Fuji. 

     What Marker really cares is several categories through which we can define Kurosawa's world. And ultimately, they reveal Kurosawa's personal ideas such as his preference of horses, perfection, wisdom, meticulousness. Several things in the film reminded me of certain "fantasies" of the film director. Kurosawa is depicted as a mobile artist. He relentlessly wanders around the set, talks directly with both main players and extras, cares his crew's welfare. I called this "fantasy" because, I feel, nowadays film directors are fixed in front of their monitor. Thanks to walkie-talkie, the film director can order his players on his chair. A director who moves to communicate with his crew is possibly considered inefficient or amateur. On the other hand, Kurosawa's work looks slow, labor-intensified as this documentary is. From this, I could feel confidence. Also his obsession to perfection. Thus this documentary did not need to comprehend the entire procedure of filmmaking. Because such confidence easily comes from a master's daily practice. To wrap up, in this sense, this documentary is, for me, nostalgic.