Savage Japan Movie Reviews

As I get this review site underway and jump back into Kurosawa planning to re-watch many of the Akira Kurosawa films in my library for review purposes, I decided to start out the Kurosawa directory with Rashomon, something completely fresh and new to me and one of Akira Kurosawa’s most famous films. Though I have owned the movie for some time, this Rashomon review comes after my very first viewing.

I can understand how Rashomon was ground breaking for its time, but a film made in 1950 no matter how good then is going to be a bit primitive in many ways. You must be prepared for that and be willing to be patient with some aspects of the production. However, the direction of Kurosawa and the camera work of Kazuo Miyagawa is still interesting in many scenes.

Some of your patience will be needed simply because this film was made for a specific time and specific viewing audience who were comfortable with many elements and behaviors presented in the story. The overacting, stereotypical characters, and general presentation are likely suited to the expectations of a 1950’s Japanese audience.

Though the story does rely on dialogue, Rashomon plays a lot like a silent movie, and Kurosawa has indicated this was his intent. The interesting outdoor testimony scenes provide nice separators for the multiple presentations of the crimes. I kept imagining the actors were in a corner of the famous Ryoanji rock garden in Kyoto (minus the bigger rocks) during the scenes where each character is attempting to tell the story in a way that presents themselves in a more favorable light.

The music in Rashomon is often heavy handed and an obtrusive and displeasing element, especially the odd bastardized version of Ravel’s Bolero that jarringly pops up in the film. But it does sort of lend a silent movie effect, as if someone was down in the orchestra pit banging away on an old dilapidated piano. The music is not piano music and perhaps not quite as crude as I am portraying, but it often seemed to have a life of its own, as if it was separate from the movie in many places.

There are no really admirable or genuinely sympathetic lead characters in Rashomon, so it is a bit of a mental ordeal to watch this intentionally unpleasant story shared over and over again in its different incarnations.

Toshiro Mifune's bandit is portrayed almost as a hero in this version of the story.

Toshiro Mifune is fascinating as always, though the over-the-top psychotic laughter from him and Machiko Kyo late in the film is very annoying. The laughter served its purpose of forcing the point that these characters are not intended to be worthy of the audience’s compassion, but it is far too excessive and doesn’t play well today.

There are a lot of issues to consider in the presentation of Rashomon, and it is at the very least a thought provoking film. It is a film that does not wrap things up with definitive answers to the questions posed. It leaves the viewer to ponder and consider our sometimes tenuous perception of truth and reality.

If this review at first sounds like I was not very fond of Rashomon, I should clarify that I did not strongly dislike the film. I learned some things from studying Rashomon. Perhaps much of what I learned was revealed in the DVD bonus features, especially the subtitled interviews from part of the NHK documentary The World of Kazuo Miyagawa with Kurosawa and cinematographer Miyagawa. I watched the NHK supplied material before viewing Rashomon. I think it was valuable and though I wouldn’t normally recommend this, I do suggest watching the bonus features first with Rashomon. It gave me a few good things to look for and made the viewing of this “out of time” movie less tedious.

If you enjoy studying movies and are interested in significant films that are credited with changing the face of cinema around the world, then you may very much enjoy and appreciate this classic film. If you are looking for a fun and easy to watch Japanese movie, you might want to pass on Rashomon.

Extras
After writing this review, I also forced myself to sit through the commentary by Donald Richie, an author of several books on Japanese film. Though I listen to almost every single commentary provided with every single film I view at home, I say “forced” in this case because I’m always hesitant to sit through commentaries recorded by people who had absolutely nothing to do with the production of the film being discussed.

In fairness to Mr. Richie, he was not a pointless babbler, and I definitely learned some things from listening to his comments. Though I was hesitant at the beginning of the commentary, I do not regret taking the time to watch Rashomon a second time with Mr. Richie‘s accompaniment. My appreciation for the film was certainly increased and if you add this title to your library, I would say the commentary is definitely worthwhile for your second viewing of the film.

Donald Richie, though obviously a fan of Kurosawa’s work, suggested quite directly in his commentary that Kurosawa had no real talent for music direction in his films, and that the composer was not at fault for the inappropriate soundtrack. He blames Kurosawa, sharing a story of how Kurosawa directed the composer to come up with something Bolero-esque. That was interesting to me, especially after my own reaction to the weird music composition during my first viewing.

For Japanese Language Students
As far as listening comprehension practice goes, there are many heated exchanges consisting of dialogue delivered at a very high rate of speed. I do not think this is a good choice for beginner Japanese students trying to pick out lines by ear.

Savage Japan Movie Reviews
Dan Savage [email]

Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon

Entertainment Value: Moderate
Listening Practice: Poor
Film Study Opportunity: Excellent

Rashomon is available from Netflix.