Akira Kurosawa (Director)
When people talk about the all time greatest film makers Akira Kurosawa's name is bound to come up. Rashomon is a film about his that takes a different narrative structure than any of his other films I've seen. Rashomon opens on a rainy war torn structure. It's soaked inhabitants are both mentally and physically exhausted. They begin to explain the event of the day to a visitor.
At this point the story moves to flash backs of a trial in which testimonies from 3 different people are heard. All three tell the tail of a dead man. The first testimony, told through flashbacks (a dream within a dream) is that of a bandit who claims to have stolen the dead mans wife and killed the man in a fierce sword fight.
The second testimony is that of the wife. The way she tells the story leads the court to believe that she killed her husband by accident after having given herself to the bandit. The third testimony is told through a medium who is channeling the dead man. The audio work during this sequence is amazing. He tells that after his wife had given herself to the bandit, she provoked a fight between the bandit and himself. Ending in him clumsily being killed.
As I said before all this is being told by the villagers. One who eventually admits to seeing the entire thing and begin haunted by it. This is a great way to tell a story and it asks a lot of questions. First off, what is truth? The events described by all 4 witnesses could be considered the truth if each believes it. Secondly, is role of perception in storytelling. Kurasawa is playing with this even with his narrative structure. Then thirdly, who do you believe. Each person has motives for telling this story the way they did. The bandit to maintain his persona, the wife to salvage some dignity, the husband to rest in peace and the villager to get it off his chest.
I love the way Kurasawa uses his camera in his story telling. This film is shot on black and white, but the landscapes are haunting. All three flash backs have different usages of music. The third installment being silent adding to the mystical element of that retelling. The film really leaves it up to the viewer to basically pick a story. It does lean a little to the villagers side, and there is a surprise at the end of the film which comes out of nowhere (most surprises do) that feels a little like a cop out I guess, but it does warp everything up in a nice little bow if you are one of "those people".
One thing that I find negitive is the acting of Kurasawa regular. Mifune. I know he is considered legendary, and that is acting style is a branch of the traditional Japanese Kubiki style. But it is just too big for me. He jumps around and laughs like a court jester. It takes me out of the movie. Mifune makes Al Pachino look bland.
This structure has been used numerous times after Rashomon. I find that usually it does get the credit the film deserves. I mean, would you admit to being inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time? This is a 50's, black & white, Japanese movie so I know it is not going to the top of everyone's queue. But if you are interested in getting into Kurasawa and don't want to make the nearly 4 hour commitment to watch Seven Samurai (even though you should), Rashomon is an excellent into to one of cinema's masters. I give Rashomon ★★★1/2. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself. This film is availible on Netflix Watch Instantly and on DVD through Criterion Collection.
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