As Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998) aged, so did his films’ protagonists. Gone are the unformed young men of earlier decades, ripe for a jolt of enlightenment. Instead, the leads in his late films are reaping the consequences of decades of character formation, either condemned to despair and isolation (Ran), or reveling in community and inspiring younger generations (Rhapsody in August and Madadayo). In Madadayo, Kurosawa’s final film, the protagonist is a retired professor, whose childlike goodness impels those in his orbit to act generously and sacrificially. In Kurosawa’s idealized portrait, symbols and colors of Buddhist enlightenment surround the Professor, suggesting that a sort of earthbound holiness is attainable for those who age with excellence. — Andrew Spitznas
- Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
- Produced by:
- Written by: Akira Kurosawa Hyakken Uchida
- Music by: Shinichirô Ikebe
- Cinematography by: Takao Saitô Shôji Ueda
- Editing by:
- Release Date: 1993
- Running Time: 134
- Language: Japanese
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2019 Top 25 Films on Growing Older — #20