Rashomon story

movie: Rashomon (1950) · 1950-08-25

Rashomon (羅生門, Rashōmon) is a 1950 Japanese period psychological thriller film directed by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. It stars Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura. Although the film borrows the title from Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's short story "Rashōmon", it is based on Akutagawa's short story of 1922 "In a Grove", which provides the characters and plot.

16 total · 3 choice · 7 major · 6 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
coping with a crisis of faith choice the overarching point seems to have been the priest's loss of faith in humanity upon hearing about the selfish and cruel actions of everyone involved
human nature choice the overarching point seems to have been the priest's loss of faith in humanity upon hearing about the selfish and cruel actions of everyone involved
the desire for justice choice the various stories were told during a trial in which society sought to discover the truth of the events
alternate points of view major we heard comtrasting and contradictory testimonies from participants in the drama
coping with having been raped major the wife was raped by Tajomaru and much of the story dealt with that fact
honor major the samurai killed hims
husband and wife major the story centred on the relationship between a husband and his wife as she was raped
love triangle major we must ponder what really took place between Tajomaru, the wife, and the samurai husband
pridefulness major all the people involved exhibited much pride and lied to cover their shame
romantic infidelity major The wife may have left her husband for Tajomaru voluntarily.