Cinema Club and Discussion Group
The St. Agnes Library (444 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, New York 10024) will be having a Cinema Club & Discussion Group on October 16th at 5:30pm. Almost identical to a book club format only instead of discussing a book, a movie will be the discussion. The film selected for discussion October 16th is RASHOMON (1950).
This Japanese film follows several people as they each have their own story of how a samurai was murdered in a forest. The film seeks to investigate the philosophy of justice. The film depicts the rape of a woman and the murder of her samurai husband through four witnesses and their widely differing accounts. The 1 hour 28 minute film released in Japan on August 25, 1950 to moderate commercial success. It released in the US on December 26, 1951.
"The film was subsequently screened at the 1951 Venice Film Festival at the behest of Italifilm president Giuliana Stramigioli, who had recommended it to the Italian film promotion agency Unitalia Film seeking a Japanese film to screen at the festival. In 1953, Stramigioli explained her reasoning behind submitting the film:
I was shocked by Rashomon. Regardless of whether it would win an award, the first condition is that it would generate a great deal of buzz. In that sense, Rashomon is a very distinctive film, and because it is so Japanese, I thought it was entirely appropriate. I also thought that the way it handled the theme, the way it was portrayed, and the spirit and humanity that flowed through the film were all excellent."
The film went on to win the Golden Lion Award at the 12th Annual Venice Film Festival, Best Foreign Language Film at the 24th Academy Awards and nominated for Best Film at the 6th British Academy Film Awards.
No registration is required to attend this Adult 18+ discussion group. You are going to want to be sure to watch the film prior to the meeting. DVD copies are available on the St. Agnes 2nd floor for checkout on a first come first serve basis. You may also find public streaming of the film on the website
justwatch.com.