Japan Synopsis
In 1985, Chris Marker traveled to Japan to attend the filming of Ran, directed by Akira Kurosawa. Marker analyzes the progress of filming; the infinite patience of a team under the orders of a meticulous director down to the smallest detail; the antithetical mixture of the modern with the traditional; of the real with the fictitious; of life with cinema… and literature.
Other Titles From Nippon Herald Films
The 1984–1986 Japan Window
In the crowded 1984-1986 Japan release window, A. K. sits at #65 of 91. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1980s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1980s in Japan, 280 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when A. K. premiered alongside 33 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 33 other Japan films in 1985.
The 641st Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Audience Engagement
31 audience reviews — more than 51% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (51th percentile) outruns trending popularity (8th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on A. K., grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- making of · 3
- film shoot · 3
- biographical · 3
- cinema on cinema · 2
- documentary filmmaking · 2
- semi-biographical · 1
- movie making · 1
- world masterpiece theater · 1
- cult movie · 1
- documentary about film · 1
- movie business · 11
- japan · 454
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #3,602 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (21st percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.7 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Documentary productions specifically: #44 of 50 (top 88%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | France, Japan |
| Original Language | Fr |
| Spoken Languages | French, Japanese |
| Production Companies | Nippon Herald Films, Greenwich Film Production, Herald Ace |
| Runtime | 1h 15m |
| Release Date | May 20, 1985 |
| IMDb | tt0088658 |