Rashomon (1950)

Faith in the face of extreme subjectivity
Akira Kurosawa is, without a doubt, not only one of my all time favorite film makers, but one of the most important of all time. The first Kurosawa film I saw (probably like most other people) was Seven Samurai, and from there it was Yojimbo, Ikiru, and on and on. I left, for no particular reason, Rashomon for last.

Finally, about a year ago, I got around to watching and loved it, as I knew I would, but it was only in the fact that I have an endless admiration for Kurosawa that I proclaimed it a great film. I think it was more of a "ok, now that i've seen this i've seen all of his available work." thing.

BUT now having watched it a 2nd time no more than an hour ago, in a somewhat different frame of mind, I can say that it is one of my top 5 Kurosawa films, brashly contesting with Ikiru, High and Low, Ran and Kagemusha; it's a film so bleak yet so uplifting that viewing it is a one of a kind experience.

99% of the film is spent in complete speculation; who's telling the truth? is it possible to attain any grain of truth from any of these stories? what is truth, what is reality, what is a lie and how can you know whether or not someone is reliable?

You can't, that's the basic story; everyone's reality, and therefore everyone's concept of truth and lies differs vastly from person to person, be they a priest, a commoner, a woodcutter, or bandit.

But with this in mind, there is still hope for SOME good in the world, for if there is no good in this world then this world is hell (to paraphrase a quote from the film.), SOME people must be trustworthy; and this is Kurosawa at his most optimistic, I think. I don't necessarily agree, but the power of this message almost gets me fully on his side of the fence.

Message of the film considered, everything else is superb. Mifune, who at the time was an unknown, hands in a stellar performance, but not just Mifune, all those included, behind the camera and in front of it, turned in one of cinema's finest 88 minutes to ever be recorded.

Lies are the bye product of truth
Another glorious film by Kurosawa. Here he weighs the nature of truth on a flawed and humanistic scale. Pound for pound, this movie is often considered his fattest masterpiece.
This is a crime drama with some very heavy issues. There were eye witness reports of a rape and of a murder. Four witnesses testify, each with different and incompatible versions of the story.
This movie points out how truth is in the eye of the beholder. Memory is unreliable, things can be perceived in different ways. Plus, there are often selfish reasons for people to bend the facts.
Rashomon was beautifully shot in 1950, and its greatness stands the test of time. There is never a dull moment in this film. It has some exciting swordplay and fighting, plus a constant battle of wits as the truth gets served in various doses. I totally love how the real truth is left up to interpretation in this film, it could cause some nice debates. The only solid fact is that anyone serious about the art of film should check this masterpiece out.

Lies are the bye product of truth
Another glorious film by Kurosawa. Here he weighs the nature of truth on a flawed and humanistic scale. Pound for pound, this movie is often considered his fattest masterpiece.
This is a crime drama with some very heavy issues. There were eye witness reports of a rape and of a murder. Four witnesses testify, each with different and incompatible versions of the story.
This movie points out how truth is in the eye of the beholder. Memory is unreliable, things can be perceived in different ways. Plus, there are often selfish reasons for people to bend the facts.
Rashomon was beautifully shot in 1950, and its greatness stands the test of time. There is never a dull moment in this film. It has some exciting swordplay and fighting, plus a constant battle of wits as the truth gets served in various doses. I totally love how the real truth is left up to interpretation in this film, it could cause some nice debates. The only solid fact is that anyone serious about the art of film should check this masterpiece out.