1996 / 99m - Japan
Mystery
3.0*/5.0*
Misty poster

Watches

April 21, 2021

3.0*/5.0*

A retelling of the infamous Rashomon story. The concept has been done to death by now, the difference here is that Misty remains quite close to its source, rather than simply nicking the idea and making a more contemporary version of it. There are some obvious pros and cons tied to that setup though.

Knowing up front this was a take on Rashomon meant the story became quite predictable. It might've been more fun going in blank, sadly that part was already spoiled for me. Even then, the middle part of the plot would've remained pretty by the numbers once the cat was out of the bag.

Luckily, Saegusa put a lot of effort into the cinematography and setting, which kept things interesting even when the plot was merely chugging along. Performances are solid too and the soundtrack is an asset. I liked this quite a bit better than Kurosawa's version, then again that's probably my general lack of interest in classic cinema talking.