Rashomon - A Japanese Film By Akiro Kurosawa

It won the Best Film Academy Award, and advocates looking for the good in people rather than celebrating their wickedness. A must-watch to appreciate the state's government.

The Hyderabad Film Club, as part of the ongoing retrospective on Japanese Director Akira Kurosawa from 14th to 18th October, is screening Rashomon, on 15th October at the Sarathi Studios.

The film won the Best Film award at the Academy Awards in Venic in 1951. The story begins with a scene in 12th century Japan, with a woodcutter and a priest relating conflicting stores to a third man as the group takes shelter under Rashomon gate. The different tales revolve around a bandit, Tajomaru, who has attacked a couple wandering through the woods, tying the husband up and forcing himself on the wife.

The husband was found dead in the forest by the woodcutter, but what actually happened between these people is inconclusive. Tajomaru, the wife, the husband (through a medium), and the woodcutter all present different and irreconciliable versions of the events in question to the authorities.

The woodcutter and priest are disturbed by the absence of an objective truth, but the third man seems not to care. The three find an abandoned baby under the gate, and the third man steals some of the items left with the child and leaves. The priest fears for the baby’s safety, but the woodcutter states he already has several children and offers to care for this one as well.

The idea put forth, through the film, is that our perceptions allow for no objective truth, only a subjective kind that would be different for each person. Although (and because) man will lie to others and to himself and turn truth into an abstract, meaningless concept, there is much need in the world for compassion and trust.

The film suggests that it is admirable and necessary to look for the good in people rather than celebrating their wickedness. Its thematic concerns, stylistic brilliance, and historic value make Rashomon a very important film. The mystery created by the four different stories also makes it an intriguing work that encourages multiple viewings; the rogue says, "I don’t mind a lie if it’s interesting," a comment that can apply to this film and the whole of fictional cinema.

With Akira Kurosawa’s death in 1998, the world lost one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Kurosawa was acclaimed as an original and great filmmaker during his lifetime, nationally and internationally. His films received a number of prestigious awards at home and abroad. He had directed 30 feature films.

Please contact Bh S S Prakash Reddy of the Hyderabad Film Club at 2373-0841/93910-20243 for further details.