Patrick Selitrenny

What do critics know that we don't know? Absolutely nothing. In so many cases they disliked movies for frivolous if not inconsistent technicalities. Let's face it, if one were to trust official critics, one may have missed so many masterpieces, if not good movies in time. This applies to "Song of Names" as well. They probably didn't fully grasp the idea in this dramatization of the novel from which it is taken, probably preferring a more thorough transliteration of the same. But they also seem to forget that a movie is a movie, and a novel is a novel: two completely different entities from each other and completely different media as well. This said, I praise the effort made with this movie, as well as the excellent performances by everyone involved with it. Be it as it may, I enjoyed it very much, but I also have to add that this is a "thinking man" motion picture and not a "fast food" one. If you want a popcorn munching one, look elsewhere, because this one deals which very serious and indeed, sad happenings caused by the winds of time, in this specific case, that darned and damaging Second World War, which did not only ruin lives all over the world, but also destroyed many hopes and talents in the process.

A magnificent, but tragic, depiction of life in the miserable suburbs of a great city (this time, Tokyo), as so many cities in the world still have to this day. Kurosawa's magic never ceases to capture the viewer's attention. Many have been the detractors of this movie, finding every possible excuse to dislike it, but in reality, this is the most honest, more factual and humane story, or set of stories, ever put together by a great film maker. Those who didn't like it, are either jaded with their own life and prone to more exotic and adventurous movies, which indeed this one isn't. "Dodes'ka-den" throws the real life of poor and abandoned people right in the face of the audience, and shows how these shanty town dwellers actually cope with their hopeless lives. I would dare say, that this movie is as real today as it was back in 1970. Many of the social problems shown in it, are still with us in our so called advanced modern world, and nothing seems to have budged an inch since then. A great social study by the great master of all times, told with care and sensitivity for the lives of others. Personally, I think we would need more such movies these days, in order to finally make people understand the real problems that our societies have for so long forgotten and set aside. Ignoring them is a crime in itself, and this is where Kurosawa actually traced a line in the sand. This is a film for the thinking and caring mind, not for the thrill seeking individual. Be it as it may, this is by far not a boring or dull movie, but rather one that speaks to the human heart,

An all time masterpiece, among the many Kurosawa managed to bring forth during his masterful presence as a writer and as a director. Every film he touched had a specific meaning and significant message, and so it is with "Rashomon". An absolutely must see in cinema history.