Review of Rashomon (1950) by Cody H — 31 May 2010

Rashomon excels visually, engaging you with absolutely beautiful framing, dynamic but minimalist sets bathed in light and an expressive cast.

Rashomon is a triumph of the use of sound in storytelling- rain, screams, laughs, the noise the grass makes as feet run through it, the sand between the fingers and toes of the three on trial, and the contemplative silence that bookends every major sequence elevate the movie further.

Unfortunately, Kurosawa's obsession with Buddhist philosophy flattens what should otherwise a truly great film. Intentional obviousness meant to educate the Japanese film goers in the broader scope of film making translates very poorly to an intelligent audience, and the constant, obtuse philosophic diatribes intended to reinforce instead become redundant, unnecessary and infuriating. By the time Kurosawa gets around to bluntly commenting on lying and the nature of man, the viewer has already seen and heard it multiple times. The ultimate failure of the film is that Kurosawa attempts to do all the viewer's thinking for him rather than stimulating and provoking to thought.

Nonetheless, a visually and structurally strong film with the best use of sound you'll have ever experienced in a story.