well, i watched this movie for the first time in three years (first kurosawa film i've seen in a while too), and i was surprised and disdained to find that i did not enjoy it as much as i remembered the first time.
here's what i wrote about it right after watching it:
synopsis: The tellings of a wealthy man's murder (or suicide) and his wife's rape from four fundamentally different perspectives.
A strangely unemotional experience for me this time around (with a couple exceptions, namely the final act.) in spite of the charged performances, i didnt find the drama very engaging in between the four segments, and within them (save for the fourth one.) the final telling, by the woodcutter, was the dramatic focal point of the film. the complexity of the interactions and struggles within each character in this part was a surprising step above the rest of the movie, though it failed to redefine anything significant.
the woodcutter's moral dillemma was overplayed, for once, i actually think a more steril teller would have suited the film better.
curious how ozu would have handled it....
so what am i missing? kurosawa used to be my favorite director, but after rewatching this, i cant figure out why. at first i wrote it off because i watched it back to back with 'the seventh seal', which is a tough act to follow, but it doesnt fully stack up...
was it just me, or was there an overly sentimental quality to it?
curious to hear what you folks thought of this movie...
here's what i wrote about it right after watching it:
synopsis: The tellings of a wealthy man's murder (or suicide) and his wife's rape from four fundamentally different perspectives.
A strangely unemotional experience for me this time around (with a couple exceptions, namely the final act.) in spite of the charged performances, i didnt find the drama very engaging in between the four segments, and within them (save for the fourth one.) the final telling, by the woodcutter, was the dramatic focal point of the film. the complexity of the interactions and struggles within each character in this part was a surprising step above the rest of the movie, though it failed to redefine anything significant.
the woodcutter's moral dillemma was overplayed, for once, i actually think a more steril teller would have suited the film better.
curious how ozu would have handled it....
so what am i missing? kurosawa used to be my favorite director, but after rewatching this, i cant figure out why. at first i wrote it off because i watched it back to back with 'the seventh seal', which is a tough act to follow, but it doesnt fully stack up...
was it just me, or was there an overly sentimental quality to it?
curious to hear what you folks thought of this movie...