Hawaii International Film Festival 2009

Based on two stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa -- ("Rashomon" provides the setting, while "In a Grove" provides the characters and plot), this landmark film, directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa, is a brilliant exploration of truth and human weakness. A priest, a woodcutter, and a peasant take refuge from a downpour beneath a ruined gate in 12th-century Japan. The priest and the woodcutter, each looking stricken, discuss the trial of a notorious bandit for rape and murder. As the retelling of the trial unfolds, the participants in the crime -- the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), and the murdered man (Masayuki Mori) -- tell their plausible though completely contradictory versions of the story. RASHOMON can be said to have introduced Kurosawa and Japanese cinema to Western audiences, and is considered one of his masterpieces. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and also received an Academy Honorary Award at the 24th Academy Awards.

Presented by the National Resource Center East Asia.