Crime · Drama · Mystery
Japanese
1950 · Directed by Akira Kurosawa · 88 min
In a ruined gateway during a downpour, three men shelter and try to make sense of a killing in the forest and the trial that followed. Each witness has a story to tell. Part courtroom puzzle, part moral fable, set in medieval Kyoto.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of Japan's postwar golden age and the work that introduced Japanese cinema to a global audience. It also established the multi-perspective narrative as a lasting form.
Watch with intention
Treat every flashback as a performance by the person telling it, and ask what each narrator wants you to believe about them.
Save this film, rate it and keep your notes.
Free, no ads. Your journal, your lists, a Cine Guide that remembers you.
Create your free space
