The Abbotsford Film Society (AFS) screens Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon – its fourth film in this year’s series – on Friday, March 31.
AFS president Aaron Dawson said he chose the film because of its unique place in cinema history.
“Rashomon was the first of Kurosawa’s films, and the first Japanese film in general, to find success on the international stage. It’s the film that introduced Japanese cinema to the West,” Dawson said.
Even though this was Kurosawa’s 12th film, Rashomon is what truly launched his career, cementing him as a true auteur. The film is a psychological crime thriller using a unique structure, telling the same story from four different perspectives, which is now known as the “Rashomon effect.”
“This was something that hadn’t been seen before, particularly in North America films,” Dawson said.
RELATED: New Abbotsford Film Society holds first screening
Since its release in 1950, the film has often been cited as one of the greatest films ever made. It won an honorary Academy Award in 1952 with the academy declaring it to be “the most outstanding foreign language feature film released in the United States in 1951.” (The current Oscar category of Best Foreign Language Film was not introduced until 1956.)
The AFS’s mandate is to increase awareness and access to independent, art house, Canadian, foreign and classic films.
Dawson says, by screening films not shown in mainstream theatres or that are hard to find on streaming channels, the society helps audiences become more film literate and think about movies as something more than simply entertainment, but a form of art.
Rashomon will be shown at The Banquet Room at Emmanuel Mennonite Church, 3471 Clearbrook Rd. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the film starts at 8 p.m. Admission is $5 at the door.
Guests are encouraged to use the Clearbrook Road entrance to the parking lot and enter on the north side of the building.
Visit the Abbotsford Film Society on Facebook or Instagram or email abbotsfordfilmsociety@gmail.com for more information.
RELATED: Abbotsford Film Society screens Oscar-winning Parasite