The last film of Kurosawa's long and influential career

No one would argue against Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's influence on the industry. He modernized scene wipes, perfected the use of close-ups and long shots, basically invented a genre (Spaghetti Westerns), and left his die hard fans a filmography filled with treasure. In fact, some scholars say that Kurosawa was the second-most influential director in history, behind only David Wark Griffith (Birth of a Nation). It goes without saying that today's cinema would look very different if Toho Studios had decided not to hire a young ex-painter named Akira.

"Madadayo" (in Eng: "Not Yet," or "No, Not Yet") is a motion picture that focuses on a beloved Professor who quits teaching in order to pursue a career in writing. The students love their professor so much that they refer to him as being "solid gold," meaning perfect in every way (a theme that pops up quite frequently). A few years pass by (midst of WWII), and we find the Professor in his new Tokyo home where he writes and holds visiting days so that his now-grown students can come over and party, learning new lessons all the while. Life seems to be going quite well for the Professor, despite the turning tide of WWII and increasing fear among the Japanese.

During a US bombing run over Tokyo, the Professor's house gets burned down along with much of the city. Without any possessions other than what he could carry out of the fire, the Professor manages to find a small screen shack to live in. His students still come and visit, learning lessons and trying to spread cheer. Of course, the Professor is wise, and doesn't let his lost house and objects get to him too much - after all, he still has his friendship with his students.

The students can't bare to see their beloved Professor living in a shack like some street mongrel, so they pool together a bunch of cash and buy him a small house. After a few weeks, a cat ventures into the house and the Professor falls in love with it, adopting the stray as his pet. This brings on the second tragedy of the film: the cat disappears and he gets dangerously depressed. Students organize a search party, desperately seeking out the cat. Of course, this concludes the lesson that emotional relationships are more important than material things - the loss of his friend (the cat) was extremely more tragic to the Professor than the loss of his old house and possessions.

The story is held together by annual parties (gathering of the ex-students and their families) in honor of the Professor's birthday. The tradition goes that before each party, the Professor would down a huge glass of beer and if he didn't die, he'd proclaim "madadayo!" (not yet). Also within the tradition of the parties, the students would recite what they learned, sing and dance, and call out "are you ready?" Of course, the answer is always "not yet," in a sort of mockery of death and the apparent timelessness of the Professor.

---SPOILER BELOW, SKIP PARAGRAPHS---
During the last birthday party of the film, the Professor is overcome by sudden illness and taken back to his house. The students (playing cards in the next room) hear the sleeping Professor shout out "madadayo," and assume that he's just dreaming. Suddenly, the camera journeys into the dream itself and it appears that the Professor (now an adolescent) is playing a hide and seek game. "Are you ready" his seekers would shout. "Not yet" was the constant reply. Distracted by something, the adolescent dream-Professor comes out of his hiding spot to gaze up at the sky. Heaven is up there, "solid gold" heaven...

Akira Kurosawa's last directed film leaves a HUGE impression on its audience. We feel like we are one of the Professor's students; learning lessons, celebrating birthdays, and loving him along with the other students. It's a beautiful thing what the late Kurosawa did - leaving us a story rich in life lessons as the last film before his own passing.

What I especially dig about "Madadayo" is the harmony of the soft camera technique with the complexity of the story's emotional themes. Without getting overly theatrical, Kurosawa sets the stage and simply lets the actors do the work. I also really like the constant lessons put forth by not only the Professor's teachings, but his life as well. Western viewers will probably be turned off by the Eastern themes within (the most "Japanese" film that I've seen from Kurosawa), but if you stick with it, there is a huge payoff in wisdom and emotions.

This movie comes highly recommended by me to any Kurosawa fan. Since parallels between Kurosawa himself and the character of the Professor cannot be overlooked, my guess is that "Madadayo" will bring a tear to your eye as you remember the immortalized director, and all the fond memories and experiences that he provided you with.