Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon (1950) is perhaps the great director’s most influential work. Seven Samurai (1954) may have something to say about that, but the fact that Rashomon has become jargon in the industry because of the film’s narrative structure says all you need to know about its influence. Despite a lukewarm critical response in Japan, the film made huge waves internationally and is often seen as the film to introduce Japanese cinema to the west. Ad while this doesn’t sit at the top of my personal Kurosawa leader board it is undeniably a brilliant film. Of course, the narrative structure is what the film is most famous for, and it adds a level of intrigue to the film. Seeing the narrative play out several times, each time from a different character’s point of view means that we are constantly questioning what is true and who to trust. The fact the film never sets a hard truth also really works for me personally, but also in regard to one of the film's themes, which is the exploration of the morality of truth. The film never makes sweeping moral judgements on any of the characters, and seeing the narrative play out from each perspective means we aren’t able to get clear ideas of who these characters are and therefore can’t make these generalisations ourselves. This is helped massively by the performances in the film. Frequent Kurosawa collaborators, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki and the ever-brilliant Toshio Mifune all do wonderful jobs throughout the film, but the real star of the film for me is Machiko Kyo. I have seen some criticism of her saying she is over the top, and while I can understand this argument, I don’t think it takes away from her performance at all. I think she is exceptional throughout, managing to play the three versions of the narrative so differently while still being completely mesmerising throughout. There is a whole section in the first telling of the story where she is stellar and somehow manages to be both ‘over the top’ and also somewhat subtle, especially using her eyes. It is a wonderful performance in a film full of great performances. The film also just so happens to be shot beautifully. The framing throughout is exquisite and it makes the film a visual masterpiece as well as a narrative one and if you haven’t seen it already you absolutely should.
Rashomon is available to watch on BFI Player, Arrow, and Plex.
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