Madadayo

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John A Matsumura is a bit of a pleasure to watch in his subtle central performance. This film will bored many people (if they even manage to stumble upon it) yet there is a quaint and likable honesty to this film. Madadayo is a serene endearing biopic experience. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/23/24 Full Review Dave S It's a shame that Akira Kurosawa's swan song turns out to be a bit of a lame duck. There's nothing wrong with the premise – after a well-respected professor retires from teaching, his students continue to play a significant role in his life, honoring him yearly with boisterous birthday parties, among other things. Where the film wears thin over its considerable running time is its repetitiveness – the former students break out in song at the drop of a hat and burst out in laughter at the most innocuous comments. What could have been a touching and concise film about friendship, mentoring, and the aging process instead becomes a wearisome marathon with no apparent finish line in sight. Tatsuo Matsumura is great in the lead role, but there's really not much else to recommend about Madadayo. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 05/10/23 Full Review Audience Member 3.5-4. A nice little serene film. Very likable despite its simple, rather eventless plot. I liked it and everything in it is good, but I ultimately did not find it as moving or engaging as 'Rhapsody in August.' Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Enjoyable as a series of rambling comic monologues by the Sensei, though by the halfway point the absurd amount of hero-worshipping started to get on my nerves (the moustache-twirler who tried to buy the block of land was one big eye-roll). It's nice as the sentimental final film of a very old man, but if someone else had made this movie I don't think anybody would have even noticed it existed. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Tatsuo Matsumura's work in "Madadayo" is one of the greatest performances of any Akira Kurosawa actor; he plays the real life professor Hyakken Uchida before, during and after World War II. The story doesn't concern war, but the love and relation former students have with their professor. This is one of Kurosawa's most tender pictures, it shows us how and why former students are so keen on helping the professor in old age; Uchida is an instructor of German, but rarely is the subject referred to, the film rather showcases what kind of man he is which includes his love for a cat, how he and his wife have to move to a different home, how everyone respects him so much and his modest nature which incorporates tremendous wit and self-deprecating humor. I have seen "Kagemusha" and "Dreams," but this film in particular made me realize he has one of the most memorable dream sequences (there is only one in "Madadayo") in cinema, still we don't really find him synonymous with dreams. Also, there are striking resemblances to the works of Ozu; this might be the most "Japanese" film Kurosawa has made and it was his last, including a ray of patriotism in some scenes which I found surprising. I wouldn't place it among his four or five great films but it's definitely a must watch! Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Could have benefitted from a little editing. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Madadayo

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