Akira Kurosawa (1910–1998)

“Rashomon” by Akira Kurosawa, alike “Così è (se vi pare)¨ and ¨Six Characters In Search of an Author¨ by Luigi Pirandello masterfully tell us about the multiple essence of truth. Rashomon explores the unreliability of narrative perspective and the mutable nature of truth. Through the theoretical framework of Einstein's theory of relativity, the dynamics of the film take on new strange dimensions. By viewing the events through a relativistic lens, causality and chronology buckle in fascinating ways. What was witnessed as sequential becomes concurrent; perspectives once opposing align in strange superpositions. The implications are profound - both unsettling conventional logic and opening insights into the fluid nature of reality itself. It offers not easy answers, but new ways of seeing beyond what was before.… (meer)

A village hires seven samurai to defend them from rampaging bandits. While the seven warriors initially clash over varying differences, they eventually unite over their task to defend the villagers and vanquish their enemies.

I'll lead off with this: I know that the 3 hour+ runtime and subtitles will turn off many viewers, but if you can overlook those two things, certainly do so. This is a great classic film that, when you watch it, you can see how it has influenced so much of cinema since it was released. The way massive battles were shot obviously has influenced such franchises as Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and even superhero films, and its character development, humor, acting, music, and so much more combine into a wonderful blend that makes for a classic Japanese action film that I am extremely glad to have watched. Aside from the lengthy runtime, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and look forward to revisiting it more in the future. Highly recommended for those who can get past the runtime and subtitled dialogue.

Content Concerns: There's quite a bit of (mostly) bloodless violence that does result in death and destruction. Language, while not in English, is a bit of a problem. There are approximately 50 subtitled uses of profanity, but strangely enough, after doing research I found out that apparently various translations have given various counts of language throughout, so apparently some was added in the Criterion Collection version that isn't in others and apparently the original Japanese version uses light profanity? It's a bit of an interesting dilemma, but it's worth noting since the language is present in the subtitles.

(November 2023)… (meer)