I watched Rashomon for the first time yesterday. Although I've seen plenty of Japanese movies in the past, this is the first Akira Kurosawa movie I've ever seen.
The first thing that stands out when watching the movie is the direction and cinematography which looks well ahead of its time, like the shots where the camera occasionally points towards the sun. As the story begins to unfold, the next obvious thing we notice is the innovative premise of the film, now known in academic circles as the "Rashomon effect", where several witnesses give different interpretations of what happened at a scene.
The best performance in the movie was definitely from Toshiro Mifune in one of his first major roles. Whether he was over-the-top earlier on or more subtle and realistic later on, his performance was incredibly versatile.
After I finished watching the film, I was initially a bit disappointed that the film didn't spoon-feed us with a final answer, but I've realized that this is exactly what makes it such a thought-provoking movie. Now I'm really looking forward to watching Kurosawa's other most famous movie, The Seven Samurai.
8/10
The first thing that stands out when watching the movie is the direction and cinematography which looks well ahead of its time, like the shots where the camera occasionally points towards the sun. As the story begins to unfold, the next obvious thing we notice is the innovative premise of the film, now known in academic circles as the "Rashomon effect", where several witnesses give different interpretations of what happened at a scene.
The best performance in the movie was definitely from Toshiro Mifune in one of his first major roles. Whether he was over-the-top earlier on or more subtle and realistic later on, his performance was incredibly versatile.
After I finished watching the film, I was initially a bit disappointed that the film didn't spoon-feed us with a final answer, but I've realized that this is exactly what makes it such a thought-provoking movie. Now I'm really looking forward to watching Kurosawa's other most famous movie, The Seven Samurai.
8/10