Plot Summary – Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, “Rashomon” is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife.

★★★★ 

Watched 03 Aug, 2020

I’d been meaning to get into Akira Kurosawa’s work for a while now but I never found the right entry point. Somehow as I was randomly picking which movie to watch next from my 100 Film Challenge, this got picked and I’m really glad because this is an integral part of film history. This film created the syntax with which several movies use the concept of telling the story of a film through different perspectives. Through the lighting, the cinematography and the direction, Kurosawa shows us the different perspectives in such a unique way that it honestly blows your mind. As you watch it, you understand how many modern films were inspired by this cornerstone of cinema history. Plot-wise, this film is quite intriguing in the way it tackles the concept of truth and perspective as it tells the same whacky story from different points of view using brilliant framing and camera work. The script is also brilliant in making you believe bits of each version of the story. The score is just mesmerizing and captures you from the opening seconds. At just 88 minutes long, Rashomon is the perfect watch if you’re looking for something that’s a really intriguing and interesting watch that’s also an important part of film history. Really my only flaws with this film is that the plot was given too little of a throughline or message and that at times it’s a bit hard to follow what’s happening and your mind does wander a lot. Still, it’s a great watch and I highly recommend it!

PS – I promise I’ll watch an English film next, it’s been three Japanese films in a row now haha!