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Criterion Spine #267 · Episode 10
Kagemusha
Akira Kurosawa, 1980 · with Michael Repsch
"Is our identity predetermined or something we can create?"
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A thief is spared execution to serve as a body double for a dying warlord. Drawn deeper into the role, the line between illusion and reality begins to dissolve — and the fate of an entire clan comes to depend on whether the performance can be sustained. Rendered through Kurosawa's extraordinary use of color, composition, and scale, Kagemusha is a meditation on power, identity, and the price of illusion.
A film distributor with 200+ titles to his name, Mike brings a unique lens to Kagemusha — one shaped by the question of how films find their audiences and endure.
Spoiler-free context and starting points.