RAN STACK002

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A story of black and of white. Black, the earth on the flanks of Mount Fuji, where
in October 1984 Akira Kurosawa finished shooting RAN. White, the snow on
the mountain’s summit that widened its corolla day by day, presaging the approach
of winter -and the end of the shooting, if the snow reached the cameras. Sensei,
the Master, standing firm against the ticking of this natural clock, against this
meteorological metaphor of destiny. Of course he won. Despite the foggy days,
using them sometimes to invent new images, he succeeded in finishing his film
before the first snowfall. No surprise from a man who sketches every shot in advance,
even exteriors, and who turns his flaming eye on any cloud in the sky that doesn’t
match his drawing, until it disappears.

In June in the torrid fields of Kyushu, and during that October on Fujiyama,
I observed, photographed and filmed Kurosawa’s work. Here are a few traces of it.