Rashomon

I finally saw Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon" on television tonight. (Lynn, Pinky and I watched Michael John LaChiusa's"See what I wanna see" in 2005...a musical version.) Set in feudal Japan, it is about a couple who gets attacked by a bandit in the woods. The woman is raped and the husband ends up murdered. A woodsman later also gives testimony. Told from the perspectives of these four people, each one faces the camera and talks to the viewer. (Yes, even the dead samurai speaks through a medium..very creepy scene.) Three people confess to the crime. It was fascinating to watch because of the acting; each character is so different in each version of the incident. For example, the bandit goes from over-the-top wild and maniacal to swashbuckling and passionate. You learn more about each one through their versions of events. Nobody appears to be capable of telling the truth about themselves.(which is probably true for most, if not all of us.) And I love how we never find out what happened either. The camera work, the cinematography, the questions about truth and human nature...very intriguing stuff. I will have to get a hold of Kurosawa's other films now.