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Roush Review

Rashomon

1950, Movie, NR, 90 mins

Rashomon: Review

RASHOMON | IN THE WOODS
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One of the most brilliantly constructed films of all time, RASHOMON is a monument to Akira Kurosawa's greatness, combining his well-known humanism with an experimental narrative style that has become a hallmark of film history. The central portion of the film revolves around four varying points of view of the rape of a woman and the death of her husband in a forest. Set in the 11th century, the film opens with a framing device, the conversation between three men--a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura), a priest (Minoru Chiaki), and a commoner (Kichijiro Ueda)--who have taken refuge from a rainstorm under the ruins of the stone Rashomon Gate. The priest relates the details of a trial he witnessed in a prison courtyard involving the rape of Masago (Machiko Kyo) and the murder of her samurai husband Takehiro (Masayuki Mori). As he explains, the audience is shown the four main defendants: Masago; the bandit Tajomaru (Toshiro Mifune); the spirit of Takehiro, which has been conjured by a medium; and the woodcutter, who admits that he witnessed the murder. Each of their viewpoints is depicted, the "truth" changing with each new defendant's explanation. Based on two short stories by Japanese author Ryunosuke Akutagawa ("In the Grove," the inspiration for the central crime story, and "Rashomon," the basis for the framing scenes), RASHOMON is a reflection of Kurosawa at his most Eisensteinian. Here he uses a juxtaposition of shots and a varying sequence of events to tell an essentially visual story. Although the film has been described by some as being about the search for truth, it is much more than that, as the framing story hints. Like the ruins of the Rashomon Gate (the film is after all named RASHOMON and not IN THE GROVE), the humanity Kurosawa depicts is crumbling and in danger of completely collapsing. While philosophers contend there are many truths, logic asserts there is only one, and, therefore, three of the four testifying characters in this film must be lying. Since Kurosawa's interests lie chiefly in human nature (and not philosophy or narrative structure), it follows that RASHOMON is not about truth but human fallibility, dishonesty, and selfishness. Like so many Kurosawa films, RASHOMON also contains some of the most amazing performances you are likely to find anywhere, especially that of the wildly fascinating Toshiro Mifune as the bandit. The videocassette is available in both dubbed and subtitled versions. leave a comment
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