Rashômon

This blog was initially created for the purpose of talking about the new Fire Emblem game for the DS when I get the chance to play it (August 9th or later), or the occasional gaming ramble/rant, but I'm thinking movie related things will also be just fine.

Tonight (this morning, for the overly technical), I watched an old movie named Rashômon. I'm not a film buff or anything, so I'm more than likely behind on the times for this since it is likely considered a "classic."

Anyway, the movie is very...different. I knew the premise of the movie beforehand, but the pace is so amazingly slow for a movie that is (according to the sleeve) 1 hour and 28 minutes long. Just getting into the storytelling part itself seemed to take an overly long time, but the music was pretty good there, which helps relieve that a bit.

By far the best part of the movie was Tajômaru (Toshirô Mifune), the "bandit" in the story. He had a great maniacal laugh that he would use quite often, and it was amusing to hear almost every time. He was also the most likable character in the movie, partly because it seemed like he wasn't completely evil.

Also interesting was the dubbing used when the medium* was telling the story from the husband's perspective. Considering this was back in 1950, the use of a man's voice from a woman's body must have been quite unique.

*Now, I feel the need to note that this kind of thing is screwed up and not right, but it is just a movie, after all. Perhaps one needs to keep in mind culture differences at a time like this.

I won't reveal any further plot details for the sake of those who have yet to see it, but to me, the mystery is definitely one to think about for some time. Honestly, I still don't understand it all even after watching the movie, though I do have a guess as to the correct conclusion. I'll have to give this some further thought, or watch the movie again with the audio commentary tomorrow, to see if that ties up the loose ends.

Overall, I'd say this movie is worth your time if you have the patience to sit through four different versions of the same basic events. I wouldn't place it at the 8.5/10 ranking it currently has on IMDB, but I would have to give it at least a 7.5/10.