Commentary_on_Rashomon

Why do people lie' Naturally, humans lie and eventually it is very hard, or even impossible, to never lie in a lifetime as a human. This film Rashomon by Kurosawa describes the indescribable truth in a case by the eyes of different witnesses. The complete truth is implied by many lies of the witnesses. But why do they all lie' Each person told their version of the story so that they look better, whether it be to keep themselves out of trouble or make themselves seem as if they are a better person than they really are. Rashomon explores the hidden truth by lies based on human nature of desire, punishment, and society. Many people lie for the simple fact of pleasure or desire. The Criminal mentions that he has killed the husband during a sword fight. This witness will increase his reputation as a great bandit to many people. However, since he knows that he will be put to death, he would not care about justice or truth for future. All he really cares about is how to make his value as high as possible before his execution at that moment. He has choices whether death with or without pride when he is captured, and finally he chose to die with pride since that is the best for him. It’s obvious that people do lie to avoid punishment. The woodcutter who repeatedly proclaims his misunderstanding, has said very different from the others, but sounds like very truthful witness among the witnesses. But his witness also contains a lie that he has arrived the spot of case after everything has happened. People often seem to lie for their position as well. Therefore, the husband states that he killed himself as a samurai since it is an honorable custom for the death of a samurai. He wants to keep his pride of the society as a samurai. The wife mentions that she also has tried to kill herself for her and husband's honor after being raped by the criminal, but has failed. Moreover, during that time for Japan it was a disgrace that a female has had more than one man, which will be blamed by others. By mentioning her attempted suicide, she will be blamed less for her dishonorable event. To conclude, “Rashoman” unfolds in different and exiting ways that gives us interesting arguments on the nature of truth and reality. This film allows us to come up with our own ending to each version of the stories being told. But the truth is that “beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves” (Kurosowa).