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While Madadayo may not be autobiographical, the professor (played with charming grace by Tatsuo Matsumura) is clearly Kurosawa--a beloved master reflecting on life, continuing to teach, and expressing gratitude for a long and rewarding career that was "not yet" over. This is a calm and simple film of peaceful resolution, in which the only major crisis is the loss of a cat--an episode both heartbreaking and, finally, as life affirming as the professor's benevolent wisdom. And while Kurosawa was criticized for being sentimental when Madadayo was released in Japan in 1993 (it didn't reach Western shores until 2000), there's an important distinction to be made between sentiment and the twilight serenity of one of the cinema's most eloquent humanitarians. Closing with a final dream image that's as beautiful as only dreams can be, Madadayo is, in its own way, as miraculous as any of Kurosawa's previous masterworks. --Jeff Shannon
| CATEGORY: | DVD |
| DIRECTOR: | Ishirô Honda, Akira Kurosawa |
| THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: | 20 March, 1998 |
| MANUFACTURER: | Fox Lorber |
| MPAA RATING: | NR (Not Rated) |
| FEATURES: | Color |
| TYPE: | Foreign Film - Japanese |
| MEDIA: | DVD |
| # OF MEDIA: | 1 |
| UPC: | 720917526522 |
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Customer Reviews of Madadayo
excellent film Akira Kurosawa's final film is, in his own words, about "the enviable world of warm hearts." It follows the twilight years of the beloved Japanese essayist Hyakken Uchida, from his retirement in 1943 to his final dream. His students call him a lump of "pure gold," without any flaws--and that is what the movie is truly about--having a kind soul, loving life, and being loved. Uchida Sensei thus evinces all the traits of the classic Kurosawa hero, but the director has never been this poigniant since his masterpiece "Ikiru" (which the film recalls in many ways), perhaps because of the personal nature of the story--Kurosawa once attempted suicide, but obviously left with a love for life. In the poetic, spare style of "Madadayo," Kurosawa even manages in some scenes to catch up to the master, Yasujiro Ozu... Terrific. Those without the taste for the moving quality of the simplicity of the plot and pace of the film may also find it long and overly sentimental, as it has been criticized, but I feel that such viewers are overlooking Kurosawa's subtle accomplishments.
A fine curtain call
Kurosawa's last film, while maybe not a "powerful" film like "Ran" or "Seven Samurai" does still pack a wonderful emotional punch as a study of the last decades of an old professor's life, starting from his retirement to his death. The title "Madadayo" is Japanese for "Not yet" and is the response given by the professor when asked "Mahka kai?" ("Are you ready?") at his birthday celebrations, meaning whether or not he is ready for death.
This film, like many of Kurosawa's works, is a character study. The old man has many admirers from former pupils and old friends, and he is full of wit and wisdom. The film chronicles many interesting aspects from his life's last years, including the loss of a favorite cat and the gain of another. If you can enjoy a film for its fascinating characters, then you can enjoy this film.
Many film makers have died with a film that barely holds up as even a classic. Kurosawa, thankfully, has left us a final film that asks questions about life, death, and the time we have on earth. It certainly deserves to be considered a milestone.
Deeper than it seems
As a fan of Kurosawa, I knew that I had to see his last film. The mixed reviews concerned me a bit. After viewing it, however, I am convinced it is one of his greatest works.
On the surface, this is a story about a beloved and somewhat child-like (in a positive way) professor in the autumn of his life. It is a touching and at times seemly overly sentimental story. There are some laugh out loud moments--the scenes with the horse, the professor's attempts to foil robbers and a student doggedly reciting all of the train stops along an extremely long route come to mind. The professor is quick-witted and warm, the acting exceptional.
Many reviewers have already given more details on the plot, so I invite you to watch and look deeper. Although I am not one given to finding allegory everywhere, there are many subtleties here that I assume are completely intentional. A director as great as Kurosawa does not randomly throw in images. So consider...The country of Japan has been torn by war, and so has the professor. We see the results of air raids--the Professor's own home and much of his town has been destroyed. The American occupation is causing changes in the Japanese way of life. Although there is no open criticism, the brief scenes involving Americans and their influences (watch for them!) show you that the Japanese characters find them incomprehensible and aren't sure what to make of them. Additionally, as the film progresses, there is a subtle influx of Western influences-more English words, American customs etc. The Professor is caught between the old Japan and the new. The scene between the kindly neighbor and the callous new landowner illustrate this.
Nowhere is this conflict apparent than in the scene with the missing cat. At first, I thought that it was a little ridiculous to devote so much of the film the the search for a missing cat, and I thought it was over the top in sentimentality. But then, we are shown a few scenes of the professor imagining his lost cat trapped in a bombed-out ruin. Although the war has been over for a few years, the ruins are still smoldering-as if the bombs were recently dropped. The cat is trying to get home, but is confused and frightened. I realized the lost cat must be an symbol for Japanese people caught in the turmoil of a war-torn country in transition. What ultimately saves the Professor is the love and devotion of his students as well as his innate zest for life. When the Professor recovers from his depression, the once destroyed buildings in the background have been rebuilt. Can't be an accident!
There are so many other subtleties here. Watch for the changing role of women, the use of English and German words, the clothing styles, the role of children, music etc. I believe you'll agree this is a great film.