Analysis Of The Film "Rashomon" By Akira Kurosawa

Almost every aspect of a scene we see in a film is there for a reason. If something is placed in a scene by the film maker, it is deliberate and serves a purpose. In the beginning of Akira Kurosawa’s 1951 film, Rashomon, there is a heavy rain that pours down onto the broken remains of buildings that shelter our main characters. It is easy to overlook small details such as rain, but there is a reason to why it is apparent in both the opening and closing of the film. It could be looked at plainly as a form of weather or it can evoke certain feelings or memories to different people. Rain is a crucial motif to the continuation and form of the narrative in Rashomon because of contribution towards cause and effect and symbolism derived from the mise-en-scene presented in each scene.

Natural occurrences can help move the story along such as an earthquake in a disaster movie or the shark in Jaws. They cause something to happen to the characters and thus effect the course of action. In the five minute clip of the beginning scene, the priest mentions natural occurrences by stating: “war, earthquake, winds, fire, famine, the plague. Year after year, it's been nothing but disasters. And bandits descend upon us every night. I've seen so many men getting killed like insects, but even I have never heard a story as horrible as this.” In this instance, the disasters are used as a device to show just how horrible this story will be. The rain is there to spark the conversation in the beginning and intrigue the audiences interest to figure out why the story is as horrible as they make it out to be. It is pivotal that we see the rain in the opening shot along with the characters. The beginning or opening is an important part of a film because it provides us with what we should expect to see in the upcoming moments. It’s important that we see rain in the first few minutes because it establishes a setting and understanding of time with the duration of the rain. It wouldn’t make sense for it to begin raining half way through the film. As stated before, rain in our instance helps engage conversation between the three men. Each man is seeking and waiting for the rain to stop, the reason the story even begins is because the commoner (last man to arrive) decides to ask what the woodcutter means by saying: “I just don’t understand.” The rain is prominent in the beginning or opening of the film, but it also makes an appearance throughout the film when it returns to the story tellers.

The frequency at which the rain is shown correlates to its importance to the continuation of the narrative. The rain is shown at full force in the beginning, continues every time the film returns to the men, and slowly ebbing away until it is merely sprinkling towards the end of the film. Since rain is used as a device to engage conversation, it makes sense that we would also see it whenever the film returns to the story tellers and starts another testimony. The film shows the rain’s intensity diminishing at the end because it is not only a signal for the story ending but also gives the characters a reason to leave. The rain has the same duration and flow of the story. It helps the audience know that there is more information because whenever the rain is shown, another side of the story will be told. It is worse in the beginning because the story is starting and audience is curious, and it is lessened at the end because the story is coming to the close and the audience is somewhat satisfied. The beginning is not only used to hint at what is to come, it helps establish the setting.

The film maker not only uses rain as a device to move the audience through the narrative, it also helps make the film as whole more believable and realistic. The film needs to make the audience really believe that these meant are seeking shelter from the rain. This gives them a reason to be there and a reason for the commoner to come to them. It is important to be able to transport your audience into your story using your visual sets and mise-en-scene, as well as give your talent a suitable environment to act within. The actors would have a hard time acting cold or gracious of cover if the film maker didn’t decide to pour thousands of gallons of water around them. When the audience watches the beginning, they are moved under the shelter as if they are also characters sitting and listening to the story. The rain helps create a common somber feeling or mood throughout the characters and with the audience.

The rain in Rashomon can also be seen as a symbol to help create these moods and help unify the theme. This particular rain can have a referential meaning: the rain is from a large storm, or it can have implicit meaning such as the rain represents the healing process that comes from telling the story and the truth. Symbolism has a lot to do with interpretations of what the film is trying to convey. The rain can symbolize a number of things: bad fortune, internal conflict, cleansing or rebirth. In context of Rashomon, the rain is an example of cleansing because they are ridding the burden of this horrible story and once they do so the rain ends and they feel better about the situation. Specifically, the woodcutter carried the burden of lying to protect himself, but once he confessed the priest admits that he can “have faith in the human soul again.” Rain evokes certain feelings and memories to different people, that is why the film maker decided to use it throughout the film in tandem with the character’s own feelings and memories.

It is easy to overlook certain things without wondering why and how they were incorporated into the film. Rain simply put is just a product of weather, or it can represent inner turmoil and frustration. Rashomon utilizes rain to create a flow through the film and explores why everything has an effect to the story both narratively and for mise-en-scene. The fact that elements can be analyzed and interpreted so intensively poses an important question: why is it important as viewers to understand the importance of certain elements?