Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1951) tells the story of a husband and wife’s encounter with a bandit. The result of the encounter ends with the death of the husband. The story is told through from the bandit’s, the wife’s, a woodcutter’s and even the dead husband’s perspective (through a psychic.) Each story conflicts with the other, making it impossible to determine which version of the story is the truth.
From this film, the term “The Rashomon Effect” was coined. The term means:
the effect of subjectivity or perception on recollection, by which observers of an event are able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of it. (wikipedia)
Kurosawa examines how humans remember certain events and how from each memory there are different specifics that stand out. The truth becomes skewed as it is seen differently through different people’s eyes. It also becomes nearly impossible to decipher what is truth and what is a misperception, who is the real bad guy?
One other aspect of the film worth mentioning is in the end when the three men hiding from the rain discover an abandoned baby. The common man realize that the woodcutter stole the dagger that was used in the murder that is found with the baby, leaving him to say, “all men are selfish”. The woodcutter convinces the men that he will be responsible for the baby as he already has several children. This act of remorse convinces the priest to restore his faith in humanity.
I think Kurosawa wanted to make several observations about the human condition. In truth, in greed and in redeeming qualities. This film stands out because of these reasons and many more.
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Since Kurosawa's "Rashomon," there have been other Asian films which have since used his "effect." Seven years ago, Chinese director Yimou Zang used Rashomon-like flashbacks to unfold the story of a nameless official who claims to have killed the three worst enemies of the king of Qin. "Rashomon" even inspired a Western remake in 1964, starring Paul Newman, entitled "The Outrage."
ReplyDeleteTruth is always in question, whether we are watching a fiction or documentary film, and "Rashomon" not only makes us aware of the instability of "truth" by showing us a few different recounts of one story, but he calls into question the fact that even he and his fellow filmmakers/storytellers are slaves to subjectivity.
In a writing conference I attended earlier this fall, I heard a speaker discuss the difficulties he had in writing an historical fiction novel because his real life interviewees had "acquired memories." In other words, though they had not lived through a certain event - or if they had, they were too young to be able to remember as much as they told him! - they firmly believed they could remember exactly how things looked, felt, tasted, sounded, etc. They were recalling things their elders had told them, and incorporating them into their own memories.
Though Kurosawa's "Rashomon" does not necessarily expound on "acquired memories," it is perhaps worth noting that after each character explains his or her side of the story, we the audience take their memories and try to find the similarities in each. By doing so, we seek the truth in commonality and familiarity, which is partly what eventually restores the priest's faith in humanity: he sees a common man recognize the value of another life, sympathize with its plight (a survival struggle that is all too common and familiar to himself), and takes it upon himself to care for the baby. In this simple, but profound and compassionate, action lies the truth in Kurosawa's masterpiece.
(Oops! Apologies for the grammar mistakes! Thanks for understanding.)
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