The enthusiastic Western critical response to "Rashomon" established Akira Kurosawa as the most noted Japanese director. More great films were to follow, but "Rashomon" was the first. Its influence was demonstrated by the usually ethnocentric Academy Awards giving the film a nomination for So Matsuyama's sets.
The story is set in Japan in the middle ages. Notorious bandit Tajomaru (Toshiro Mifune) sees a beautiful woman (Machiko Kyo) travelling a road in the forest with her warrior husband (Masayuki Mori). The bandit decides that he must have her. He tricks the husband, ties him up, then rapes the women. The husband is subsequently killed, and the woman escapes.
We hear varying versions of the story, from the
point of view of the bandit, the woman, the dead
husband (through a medium) and a witness. These
versions are all quite different, even
disagreeing on who killed the husband. The most
interesting difference in the versions is between
the bandit's and the observer's. Both end with a
dramatic swordfight between the bandit and the
husband, but the bandit's version is heroic and
skillful, while the observer's version is clumsy
and desperate.
The story is framed by a later incident, which
has three men seeking shelter from a heavy rain
and recounting the incident. The priest (Minoru
Chiaki) and firewood dealer (Takashi Shimura) are
in shock over the extent of man's evil, while the
more cynical man (Kichijiro Ueda) is not
surprised at all. Mifune is a great actor,
energetic and charismatic. Mifune and other cast
members would show up in subsequent Kurosawa
films, such as "The Seven Samurai" and "Throne of
Blood".
With "Rashomon", Kurosawa may be saying that
there is no absolute truth, that it varies
according to the pride of the observer. His
pessimistic assessment of man's evil nature is
tempered by a somewhat artificial ending. A baby
has been abandoned and begins to cry (fortunately
waiting until after all the story-telling has
ended). While the cynical man has no sympathy for
the child, both the priest and the firewood
dealer are willing to care for the helpless baby,
with the resulting moral that perhaps humanity is
not so selfish and wicked after all. (75/100)
Period Drama DVD - This landmark film is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. It opens with a priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant taki...More at Barnes and Noble
Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, Rashomon is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice...More at Buy.com
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