Review of Rashomon (1950) by Garrett R — 16 Jan 2011

RASHOMON is a flawless and classic multi-perspective black-and-white story-based Akira Kurosawa film. RASHOMON all but created the multiple story threads in narrative structure for film and set a blueprint in how to do it effectively.

Having written the stories with Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Kurosawa was able to gather the right amount of dramatic tension (which was high) from his main actors: Toshiro Mifune as the bandit Tajomaru, Machiko Kyu and Masayuki Mori as the doomed Kanazawa's (I'm not implying anything that truly happens in the story, just things that might). And for the two men, the Woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) and the Commoner (Kichijiro Ueda) who recount the stories to the Priest (Minoru Chiaki) in order to figure out whose story makes the most sense and is therefore guilty of the murder that the juries failed to solve.

RASHOMON in Japanese translates to "in the woods" in English (as the title states). As you can imagine, the main story that the three men tell the Priest happens within a wood, only that it happens from multiple perspectives. Words and swords clash over troubling vices. And the facial expressions the bandit and the couple give each other convey not just horror and disbelief, but also vulnerability and rage. Not to mention the stares between the two parties last a long time, and one can't help but stare back at them and the beautiful cinematography.

RASHOMON is able to capture the complexity in the mystery of who committed the murder within the many perspectives of the incident in the woods (and don't forget RASHOMON was the first film to employ this narrative structure), and to add in superb and quite melodramatic acting and beautiful cinematography in to create a flawless and classic Akira Kurosawa film. This is highly recommended to Japanese cinema classes, film fans, fans of Kurosawa, and great cinema in general. Be ready for more Critiques and Opinions on Every Movie I Can Get My Hands On!