Rashomon

 

Rashomon (1950)

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Written by Akira Kurosawa and Shinobu Hashimoto

Classic, Mystery

Warning: This movie contains themes of suicide and sexual assault. While these are only mentioned briefly in the SPOILER section of this review, if you are deeply uncomfortable with either of these then do not watch this movie as these themes are mentioned in every testimony.

Adapted from a short novel called "In the Grove" (1922) by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Rashomon about a samurai being found murdered in a small grove and the three witnesses called to testify (a bandit, the samurai's wife, and a medium who claims to channel the deceased's spirit) all give conflicting testimonies for how the samurai died. Specifically, each witness blatantly contradicts other testimonies and are heavily biased towards themselves. 

Note: I have not read the original "In the Grove" from which the movie was adapted from. However, I was unable to find any significant differences between the two online. The only differences is that the movie has less testimonies, and the story beginning in the aftermath of the court trial. Also, the book may not give a complete truth as to what actually happened in the grove.

The movie is centered around a woodcutter, a priest, and a wandering man huddled beneath a burnt down inn called the Rashomon, with the woodcutter and priest relaying the testimonies and their thoughts on who is telling the truth to the wanderer.  

Generally, there are a few details which match every testimony. 

SPOILER Section Ahead: Skip to next dotted line

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a. A bandit sees the samurai and his wife on a forest trail, and decides to trick the samurai, tie him up, then sexually assaults the wife. 
b. The three weapons of importance in the murder are a pearl-inlaid dagger held by the wife (which is missing), the samurai's sword (which is also missing), and the bandit's sword (which was found on the bandit).
c. The wife's hat is found abandoned by a tree branch, along with the samurai's hat.
d. Every witness implicates themselves as the murderer; the bandit says he killed the samurai in a duel, the wife says she killed the samurai out of shame, and the medium says the samurai killed himself.

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SPOILER END

As the three discuss the murders, the three men take very different views on the validity of each testimony. The woodcutter, who found the body, believes every testimony is false and that everyone is lying for their own benefit. The priest, who saw the samurai and wife before they died, believes that there must be at least some measure of truth to the testimonies. And the wanderer, well, doesn't have many thought-provoking opinions on the murder. He's primarily in the movie to act as a vehicle for the audience to listen to the testimonies.

And... Well, that's the end of me discussing the plot.

Its a mystery movie, and I'm not going to spoil the mystery.

Figuring out the plot itself, what actually happened and how it happened is part of the fun. 

Its a movie about ambiguity. I'm not going to give a complete plot synopsis.

But....

I am going to cover some general points of the movie, fun details, and its general themes below so if you are going to be watching this with some friends and want to sound really smart, continue on.

The one really cool lighting shot.

Humanity and Human Nature 

The woodcutter, priest, and wandering man all have their own subjective reasoning for why they believe or disbelieve in the testimonies of the witnesses - and what's interesting is their reasoning in part reflects their perceptions not only on the witnesses themselves, but also on the nature of humanity. The woodcutter believes that everyone is lying for their own selfish measures. The wanderer corroborates this by claiming that everyone is a terrible person capable of violence, citing the war, plague, deaths, and famine surrounding them. The priest, however, wholeheartedly believes that at least some of the testimonies are true, citing that he has to keep some faith in humanity. 

The priest, despite numerous times of hearing contradictions in the witnesses stories, approaches the opposing belief that humanity is inherently altruistic which is reflected in his attitudes and beliefs about the witnesses.

These perceptions on human nature are more pronounced at the end of the film when the three men stumble across a crying baby and all three men react according to their beliefs about how the other two would act. The wanderer robs the kimono and amulet left with the child, citing that the woodcutter did the same with the wife's dagger. The priest, having lost his faith in humanity, initially distrusts the woodcutter when he offers to adopt the child. And the woodcutter, who seeks redemption, offers to take care of the child.

All three of these characters have their own opinions about why the truth changes, and for what end. All three characters conflict in their opinions, and their reasoning as to why. All three characters have differing thoughts on human nature. 

The Use of Light and Sin

Lighting was an interesting conundrum throughout the movie and foreshadows significant themes throughout. One of the most significant themes in the movie is the sun being used to represent wickedness throughout the movie. During the movie some of the characters look up at the sun (specifically the bandit before giving his testimony and the wife in the grove). Some film critics believe that when these characters look up at the sun, it is used to foreshadow sensation, selfishness, and impulse. However this topic is debated. Others believe that when the characters are looking up at the sun, they are actually waiting to see if the sun is slowly being obscured or fading out and it is the obscuring of the sun which highlights the notions of evil in the film.

  Fun Fact 1: most of the lighting In The Grove (haha reference) is actually light that is reflected by mirrors, because initially there was not enough natural light. 

Fun Fact 2: The ending scene was initially not supposed to be sunny; it was supposed to be partly cloudy.

Cost and Financing

The movie was produced in post-WWII Japan, and as a result there are many differing accounts as to the actual budget offered for the movie. Usually, the costs differ between $40,000 and $140,00, depending on the source. Because of its low budget the movie had several limitations, such as the actors and director all living together throughout production, having only a months worth of time in-between filming and release, and relying on only three sets.

Allegories and Final Thoughts

The movie is subject to multiple interpretations, and that is kind of the point. Even at the end of the movie where the woodcutter gives their own account of the absolute truth, they are still found to have partially lied (stealing and selling the pearl-inlaid dagger). 

Overall, the movie is about personal interpretations and how we often fail to recognize our own actions or take responsibility for them.

It can also be looked at from a psychological viewpoint surrounding the malleability of memory - there was an old documentary I once watched about two men who were talking about an argument they had a few decades prior. One, who we will call Abe (because I do not remember the case or the name after all this time), claimed that he remembered friend Bernard pulled out a gun part way through the argument. Bernard says Abe pulled the gun. A third friend, Calvin, witnessed this argument and corroborated that Abe did in fact pull the gun, much to Abe's surprise who genuinely remembered a different outcome.

The story and its focus can change depending on the viewer. It can be a discussion of the societal expectations of women in the pre-Meiji Restoration and the 1950's from the perspective of the wife, an allegory for World War II propaganda following the defeat of Japan, a philosophical analysis for how the interpretation of truth is dependent on subjective opinion and how we fail to consider our own biases when it comes to ourselves, etc...

More Fun Facts

The actors did not know whose testimony was correct during filming; the director purposely kept this hidden as the film was about the conflict of subjective perceptions.

The Rashomon Effect is a trope which spawned from this movie. The Rashomon Effect is when individuals provide conflicting testimonies of an event due to their own selfish interests and personal viewpoints instead of providing a completely logical truth. This can be seen when a persons own interests and goals are misaligned with reality, and has been used in numerous screenplays, novels, and media.

A special thank you for Wikipedia for carrying this entire article, because honestly while there have been articles written about the film's interpretations and production, they are increasingly difficult to find online. If you are interested in reading more about the film, references, its awards, and what it inspired, here is the link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon