Review: “Rashomon” One of the Crowning Masterpiece of Cinema
“Men are only men. That’s why they lie. They can’t tell the truth, even to themselves.“
What is the nature of reality? Can we truly believe in what we see and trust our own reality? Are we humans so vain that we constantly have to lie so we can live with ourselves? Grandmaster Akira Kurosawa pioneered the subject of alternate version of realities in movies with the existentialistic Rashomon, one of the most influential masterpiece in film history. The far-reaching concept of multiple perspectives that do not agree with each other has now become a staple of many modern films such as Hero, Courage Under Fire or The Usual Suspects. This non-linear story-telling concept was almost unheard of in Hollywood at the time and another lasting legacy left by Rashomon is that it was one of the first film to not provide closure to its audience.
Rashomon is a crime mystery that essentially tells the same story four times from four different eye-witness accounts. The curtain opens on a priest (Minoru Chiaki) and a woodcutter (Takashi Shimura), who are seeking refuge from the rain under the city gate of Rashomon. Both men were the last people to see a samurai (Masayuki Mori) and his wife (Machiko Kyō) before they encountered the notorious bandit Tajomaru (Toshirō Mifune). They were summoned to testify at the trial earlier and have been left shaken in disbelief at what they have heard. They recount the disturbing testimonies in a series of flashback to a third man. Against all expectations, the three persons present at the crime scene each claim responsibility for the murder of the samurai. The wildly differing accounts of the captured bandit, the victimized wife, the dead samurai’s spirit (channeled by a medium), and the woodcutter make it impossible to say what truly happened on that fateful day in the woods.
“But is there anyone who’s really good? Maybe goodness is just make-believe.”
In a visual medium like film, there is always an assumption that what we are seeing is contextually true. Kurosawa demonstrates the use of this assumption against the audience. by playing the same story four times from different perspectives. The beauty of this film is that each story is just as valid as the other but each of them is also corrupted by the ego of its witness. Kurosawa manage to tell the same story story multiple times by changing the tone of each story to correspond with the personality of each character retelling it. In his testimony, the bandit tells of his honorable and heroic sword fight against the samurai. It is portrayed as this elegantly choreographed action scene of two brave men fighting skillfully to the end. The woodcutter later recounts the same fight but instead, it is portrayed as a sword fight parody, with the two adversaries so terrified to the point of being unable to hold their sword.
As the audience, we are trained to expect revelation of the truth at some point during the movie and it apparently comes when the woodcutter finally gives his account of the crime. However, in a bleak reversal of events, as we finally assume that the last story would be the unbiased and honest one, the narrator is subsequently revealed to be just as untrustworthy. Kurosawa questions the nature of reality and human perception. According to him, humans are incapable of attaining absolute objective truth because everything we see is tainted by our own ego. Psychologist have gone so far as to call this the “Rashomon effect”, the effect of subjectivity on the recollections of equally plausible events by different individuals.
From a technical point of view, Rashomon is absolutely brilliant most especially in terms of the cinematography. The intricate interplay of lights and shadows, close-ups and long shots, and the different camera angles used to film the same locations contributed to the particular structure of this masterpiece which has now become commonplace in contemporary film making. By using different shot perspectives for each of the story arc, the audience is given alternate realities in a visual manner. The film is grounded by its framing device, the gates of Rashomon to which the film returns to intermittently. The movie is widely known to be the first instance where a camera was pointed directly at the sun. Also, the way the camera follows the characters through the woods is also very reminiscent of today’s hand-held documentary-style filming, and remember this was made in 1950.
The intense focus on visual story-telling remind of the era of silent movies and the acting is slightly over-the-top. Given the multiple perspective and deliberate change of tones, the actors are required to play several variations of their characters. The great Toshirô Mifune as well as Takashi Shimura and Minoru Chiaki are actors you can recognize from their role in Seven Samurai as Kurosawa, like many great directors tends to go back to the same actors over and over again. It is however Machiko Kyō who gives the most haunting and skilled performance, giving several radically different portrayals of the samurai’s wife.
An hypnotic, unsettling examination of the conscience and motives of men, Rashomon is an indispensable masterpiece that needs to be seen if only because it is one of the great milestone in film history.
A-
(9.0/10)
Notes: Black and white, 88 minutes.
18 Comments
I must admit I’m definitely not a Kurosawa fun. I find his films mostly have great historical value and are indeed milestones in cinema, but other than that… yeah, not really my cup of tea. I did enjoy “Rashomon”, though.
But “The 7 Samurai”… oh, God… never again would I go through that 3 and a half hour of torture!
It can definitely feel very familiar and somewhat primitive since many of the concepts Kurosawa pioneered have now been seen hundreds of times in other movies. I did enjoy Seven Samurai but I can see how one would be disappointed if you were expecting a samurai movie.
Excellent review! Rashomon is arguably Kurosawa’s greatest film…It is always at least mentioned in his top 3 with Ran & Seven Samurai. It’s a very simple story but seems like pretty heavy material for the era from which it came, but it is far from graphic and the themes are only suggested and not shown. Kurosawa was a genius, and this film was one of his masterpieces and should be enjoyed by all.
Nice review. I really need to experience more of Kurosawa’s works. So far I have only seen Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro.
Easily in my top ten. The most human movie I’ve ever seen. Effing amazing. Great review, man. Sorry I’ve been a stranger over in these here parts, you guys are blocked at my office. Weak, but I’ll try to up my game from here on out.
Thanks Aiden. Definitely glad to hear that, you know I’m visiting your blog daily
My opinion on Kurosawa is well documented, so I won’t go there. I love the way you broke down the film, and I think there’s a lot to be said for Rashomon as a human film. I’ve always felt Rashomon is the Kurosawa masterpiece that’s not for me. Much in the same way that Ventilation Shaft doesn’t care for Seven Samurai (or apparently much of Kurosawa, but I think judging by our sites our preferences are quite disconnected), I’ve always found Rashomon a bit long winded, and better to analyze than to watch. Which makes it for a great long term debate, and gives it high rewatachability, but not always the most pleasant of experiences. I think it sits at about 7 or 8 on my top 10 Kurosawa films.
My not caring for Kurosawa came as a surprise even for me. I love Japanese cinema, I love samurai films, and yet I was simply so bored to death by Seven Samurai. I give it all the credit for introducing many novelties that became widely used from then onwards in cinema altogether, but other than historical value – no t, thank you.
Actually, there’s not one Kurosawa film I want to see again, not even the likes of Rashomon, which I enjoyed.
Like I said, your distaste (if that’s the correct word) for Kurosawa is perfectly fine. I’m a huge Kurosawa fan, but I’ve never been so blind as to believe everyone shares that same enthusiasm. It’s all in what you look for in a film, and what you expect to get out of it. If Kurosawa’s not your cup of tea, there’s a lot of other directors out there willing to fill that cup.
Very interesting that you don’t feel as much love for Rashomon. I will try my hands at Yojimbo sometime in the next few weeks.
For whatever reason Rashomon doesn’t resonate with me quite as well as some of his other films. My Top 5 Kurosawa films go: 7Samurai -> Ikiru -> Yojimo -> High and Low -> Red Beard
After that – Ran, Rashomon, Hidden Fortress, Dreams, & Drunken Angel in no particular order.
I have yet to see a Kurosawa film, but Yojimbo sounds interesting, and it isn’t 3 hrs long
Great review, Castor.
Thanks Ruth, I’m going to give Yojimbo a shot soon myself
I LOVE this one, never have really loved all the other Kurosawas I’ve ssen. This one’s just breathtaking though.
This is my favorite Kurosawa film for so many of the reasons you’ve talked about in this review. The fantastic cinematography, the way it questions the truth of the film image and the great use of visual storytelling.
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