Review by Bryan Hanrahan, Spanish Teacher, Pittsburgh Central Catholic High School

Rashomon is a film that highlights the subjectivity of truth and the negativity of the human spirit. Centered on the dark crime of rape and murder, there are four accounts taken into consideration at trial. The accused, the samurai who was killed, the samurai’s wife who was raped, and a witness to the crime all give their separate accounts. The samurai’s spirit is brought to the trial by a medium to speak on his behalf of the crime. No re-telling of the crime is the same, and each person maintains subtle differences to preserve their own reputation and honor.

While the film is ahead of its time visually using new lighting strategies to enhance the woods scene, Rashomon is outdated visually being from the 1950s and in black and white. Despite its outdated effects, the film’s theme is timeless. Questioning humanity and its motives can be a societal issue for all cultures in any era. Moreover, the famed actor Toshiro Mifune conveys pure madness as he stands accused of the crime at hand. In addition to Mifune’s performance, the director Akira Kurosawa uses the rain as an added element to enhance the central theme. At the beginning and throughout the film, the rain is pouring and the sky is dark and brooding. However at the end of the film, one of the three men discussing the trial does an uplifting deed and the rain clouds part suggesting there is still hope for humanity.

While there are timeless elements and effects to further enhance the story, I do not believe Rashomon has much educational value. The film would be great to study in a classic film class but does not contain much of a Japanese message or theme. The only specific Japanese elements are the samurai and buildings seen throughout the film. Overall, I – like the previous review – would only recommend this film for aficionados of filmography.