RASHOMON (1950)

Language: Japanese

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Movie has taken 12^th century of Japan as backdrop. It starts with two people sitting on gate of RASHOMON under heavy rain and later joining them another guy. These two people, a monk and a woodcutter tell the story of a bandit, a samurai and his wife. Where samurai and his wife were attacked by bandit in forest and samurai gets killed.

The story of samurai, his wife and bandit are told in four different ways by different witnesses in front of authority. One by the bandit, second by samurai’s wife third by samurai’s soul by the medium of his wife and last by the woodcutter who claims that he had seen all the happenings in the forest. but at the end it was believed and concluded that story told by woodcutter was true.

The movie tells the story of how people become selfish and liar. Why and how human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves. They have a tendency to mould the truth and they can not talk about themselves without embellishing.

I think movie was way before its time. Kurosawa has narrated the story with brilliance. He has smartly used all the different characters in narration for different point of views of story. Camera work is also superb to that time ( it is to be noted that the movie was made just few year later the second world war ). All performances are superb.

For me movie has to have a story and that also well crafted and narrated and this movie has all. It’s a classic from Kurosawa will all the merits.