Madadayo (1993)
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87% of critics liked it
(15 reviews) -
79% of users liked it
(3,134 ratings)
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… More 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
- Directed By
- Akira Kurosawa
- Written By
- Akira Kurosawa
- Genres
- Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Sep 1, 2000 Wide
- Studio
- Winstar Cinema
Critic Reviews
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Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
A lifetime of moviemaking -- Kurosawa was 83 when he made it -- seems to have pared down his technique to its essentials.
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A.O. Scott, New York Times
It's not one of Kurosawa's great films; the compass of feeling is, in the end, too narrow, the scope of human reference too restricted. But it is, within its own proportions, nearly perfect.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
This is the kind of film we would all like to make, if we were very old and very serene. There were times when I felt uncannily as if Kurosawa were filming his own graceful decline into the night.
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Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
This warm, celebratory and very public film is punctuated by sudden and luminous private visualizations.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Kurosawa's swan song is a personal and overly sentimental story of a real-life retired university professor and literary figure.
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Cast
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Tatsuo Matsumara
as Professor Hyakken Uehida
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Kyoko Kagawa
as Professor's Wife
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Hisashi Igawa
as Takayama
- George Tokoro
- Masayuki Yui
- Masayuki Mori
- Tatsuo Matsumura
