Madadayo (1998)

The Long Goodbye

It pains me to write this but I was, frankly, disappointed with "Madadayo". For the final film of his illustrious career, Akira Kurosawa chose something that seemed like a mixture of "Goodbye Mr. Chips", "I Remember Mama", and "Lassie Come Home". Yes, it was a farewell film and, yes, it was probably intentionally understated, and yes, the ending was nicely done but I watch Kurosawa for the masterful way he bring his message to film. What I got in "Madadayo" was something "not with a bang but with a whimper." There are extended scenes in this movie that are practically embarrassing to watch. The main one was about a lost cat (could this be the Japan that he could no longer find? No, I think it was just a lost cat). Anyway, that's what I was left with. I had just finished watching a number of early Kurosawa films and I was left with the impression that anyone of them was better than his final film. There's a reason that this is one is rarely mentioned. September 24, 2008

Kindness

Kurosawa's last movie is really for fans only. In his previous two efforts, the octogenarian had bitten off more than he could chew in assigning himself material too ambitious for his diminished abilities. Here, one of the greatest directors in world cinema says goodbye and thank you to the fans and critics who have stuck by him to the very end. Madadayo is a relaxed, gentle fable about the power of friendship and human kindness. An elderly, retired professor is venerated by his former students and he is grateful for their kindness and friendship.

The movie is a bit deliberate and the themes a bit old-fashioned for the hip, modern early '90s. Thus, it is important to consider the director when watching Madadayo. In his prime, in the 1950's and 60's, Kurosawa was at the height of his directing power. In 1970, when Kurosawa was 60, he made Dodes'ka-den. It was such a critical and box office failure, Kurosawa attempted suicide. At the beginning of the movie, the professor is 60. I doubt that is a coincidence. However, I will leave specific interpretations to the eye of the beholder.

Madadayo is a treat and a treasure for Kurosawa fans. July 4, 2008

Madadayo

Akira Kurosawa's atypical swan song, unabashedly sentimental and set on a small, intimate stage, reflects the director himself at twilight, confronting his own impending mortality. (Kurosawa actually passed away five years after the film's debut, at age 88). Mirroring the astonishing journey and legacy of its prodigious director, this deceptively simple film is a moving affirmation of a life richly lived, and the respect and admiration that comes with the wisdom of experience. It would be a shame to miss the uplifting joys--and occasional sorrows-- of "Madadayo." July 13, 2007

Quietly amazing...

This turned out to be Kurosawa's final film. Of course, he did not intend it to be so, but it just turned out that way. I saw this film in 1997 (4 years after it was made. It didn't get distribution here in the States), and was struck about how funny, touching, and humanistic it was. And how wonderful. It really has a lot in common with Kurosawa's 2 other films from this period (Dreams and Rhapsody in August), in that it's more humanistic and loving that Akira's previous films, which were bleak in their assessment of human nature (but were still great films). A great director/artist like Kurosawa never says "this is my final film" because if he did, he'd be finished. He thought like this after the financial failure of Dodeskaden (he tried to kill himself shortly thereafter. Luckily, he failed). He did not die, and he went on to make 6 more films, several of which (Dersu Uzala, Ran, Dreams, and this film) are masterpieces. The drinking party in the middle of the film is one of Kurosawa's greatest sequences. It's brilliantly shot, acted, and edited together. Kurosawa was very fond of using multiple cameras, which enabled him to allow the actors to be freer and not have to repeat themselves in subsequent takes. This is gloriously rendered in the drinking party scene. I loved this film when I saw it, and it still remains one of my favorite Kurosawa films. June 17, 2007

at times, it was good, but half of it dragged too tiresome long

this is the 'to sir with love' japanese version but all with male students who loved a german language teacher nicknamed 'professor', who could do funny or philosophic wisecracking almost on any occassion. a poor retiree but never faded away in the memory of his students for many many years.
it's a tough time for all the japanese during the wwii and the occupation years. it's a very heartfelt warm film, but sometimes the scenes were dragged too long and too slow to evolve into the next part. this film, in general, was a too overly exaggerated feeling-good film. the love and respect to the teacher was nothing but a whim. at times of such tough era, all the students still had the mood to assemble together to drink sake and beers, singing and dancing with such union form was nothing but too utopia-like daydream, a japanese harvest festival.
in the middle of the film, that drinking party was at first quite interesting, but as it dragged out so long and so slow, you'd feel like watching a musical, very pretentiously staged and not quite natural. there was integrated storyline threading out in it, but seemed to be just too tiny tidbits trivial.
kurosawa obviously wanted to give you an impression that the japanese people were tough to deal with the difficulties of life, yet at the same time could still enjoy certain amount of cultural and literary lifestyle. those singings dancings, jokings and laughters were just a resonant echo cover-up of the bitter sweet past, a memory of purity and innocence it could only exist in unrealistic novela or moviea, painted a false picture of the peace-loving japan and the japanese, yet quite contrary to what they did to other countries and their people during the second world war.
kurosawa adapted an unrealistic fantasia-like novel and made it into a post war 'shangri la', a lost dream and a lost horizon to most of the japanese who used belong to the empire of the rising then sunkened sun. May 25, 2007

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