Madadayo

Plot

Akira Kurosawa's swansong is a delicate, sentimental portrait of his long avowed hero, educator and literary figure Hyakken Uchida. At the film's opening, Uchida -- a professor of German literature at a military school where he is beloved for his wisdom and his impish humor -- is delivering his final lecture to his adoring students. Near the end of the speech, one student in the back rises up and declares, without guile or irony, that their teacher is "pure gold, gold without any impurities." He retires to his small Tokyo home to concentrate on his writing and to be with his wife (Kyoko Kagawa). In spite of his emeritus status, the bond between him and his students remains strong. Two students (Hisashi Igawa and George Tokoro) decide to tease their teacher by breaking into his house to steal his bowler. Uchida responds by placing a sign reading "Burglar's Entrance" over his garden door. In spite of an Allies raid on Tokyo, which levels his house, forcing he and his wife to move to an even more modest abode, Uchida's wit remains sharp and spirits remain high. The loss of his cat, Nora, proves to be a much more heartbreaking affair. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Review

Akira Kurosawa's final film is solely of note because of its association with the master, and is simply not in the same league as his great works or even his lesser works. Still, there is enough worthwhile to make it agreeable viewing, and there are the occasional moments where the old touch is present. The story of a retired professor adored by his students, who continually pay tribute to him and come to his rescue in times of need, has obvious parallels to the tributes paid to Kurosawa in his final years. The constant adoration of Professor Uchida, however, gets a bit much at times, and Kurosawa's sentimental tendencies go completely unrestrained, to the point of absolute mawkishness. The best moments involve the search for Uchida's missing cat Nora, Uchida and his wife enduring the ordeal of having their home destroyed and having to survive in a shack, the amusing bit in which Uchida is buying horse meat, and the beautifully filmed final scene. After such an incredible career, Kurosawa had certainly earned the right to indulge in sentiment and nostalgia, and Madadayo is not the awful exercise that some critics have dismissed it as being, containing moments of humor and genuine warmth. Nevertheless, it is ultimately a very slight exercise, and in the broader evaluation of Kurosawa's body of work, Madadayo registers barely a blip. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, Rovi

Cast

• Tatsuo Matsumara - Professor Hyakken Uehida
• Kyoko Kagawa - Professor's Wife
• Hisashi Igawa - Takayama

Credit

Ishiro Honda - First Assistant Director, Akira Kurosawa - Director, Shinichiro Ikebe - Composer (Music Score), Takao Saito - Cinematographer, Masaharu Ueda - Cinematographer, Akira Kurosawa - Screenwriter

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