Unrated, 1 hr. 23 min. Directed By:
Akira Kurosawa. Release Date:
Dec 26, 1951. DVD Release
Date: Mar 26, 2002.
I didn’t know anything about Rashomon when I put it in my DVD
player. Well, I didn’t know anything
that I didn’t pick up from that Bare Naked Ladies song that was played WAY too
much in the 90s. I didn’t expect
anything like this: a story rich in its
own telling, in part because they took a single event, the sexual assault of a
woman and the murder of her husband, and tell the tale from multiple
perspectives. It’s a technique I’ve
enjoyed in other movies, television shows, and even the occasional novel for
years.
I liked this even better because in
the end, even with a hidden witness’ perspective, I’m still not entirely sure
who to believe. If I disbelieve the
husband, I’m doing so only because I didn’t like the way he reacted to what
happened to his wife. The bandit was
clearly batshit crazy, and while it made sense that he would describe himself
as a seducer and liberator of a woman who was tired of her husband, only his
story suggests that the rape wasn’t that.
The wife’s story didn’t play well for me, and for lots of reasons,
although I think her tale actually felt the most real. Some of what she said could just be what a
person who had just gone through such an ordeal might feel like; how they might
react. The only thing that keeps me from
believing the eyewitness is that the sword choreography was terrible. For an infamous, murderous bandit and a
Samurai to not actually cross swords once seems… impossible. Or maybe it’s a lack of understanding on how
the Japanese perfected their swordplay.
I also struggle to understand how the wife would treat this as a set up
and then get all bent of out shape by what she sees. In the end, who knows, although I’m thinking
the use of light and shadow is probably the best clue. I noticed that when characters were behaving
shamefully, that the amount of light falling directly on them was diminished in
some way, either from the dappling interference of trees, or a trellis or some
other architectural feature.
I found this to be odd when viewed
from a cultural perspective. For a
people who are nearly obsessed with personal honor, there seemed to be little
in evidence anywhere. Rape and murder, a
man who blames his wife for being assaulted and does nothing to avenge or
comfort her, a woman plotting the death of at least one of the men who knew
what had happened, or someone who saw a terrible crime hiding his knowledge in
order to lessen his involvement. It
makes me wonder what the people of Japan thought of this when it was
released.
The movie is fascinating from many
perspectives, and enjoyable, although I realize that it’s not going to be to
everyone’s taste, if for no other reason than the subtitles and the cultural
barriers to understanding what we’re being faced with. I’d say this is worth seeing once, especially
if you’re looking for something a little different.
