gavin6942 A Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Kameda where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.Akira Kurosawa has said, "Of all my films, people wrote to me most about this one. I had wanted to make The Idiot long before Rashomon. Since I was little I've liked Russian literature, but I find that I like Dostoevsky the best and had long thought that this book would make a wonderful film. He is still my favorite author, and he is the one — I still think — who writes most honestly about human existence." First of all, for Kurosawa fans, it is a shame the full, uncut version of this film is lost. You might think that three hours is already a long movie (and you would be right), but apparently the original cut was more in the realm of five hours. Considering in retrospect that Kurosawa may be the greatest Japanese director of all time (it is him or Ozu), any footage would be valuable...For me, what I really like is the use of Dostoevsky. Surely the author never thought his book would be used in a Japanese film, with a Japanese setting, but he never would have expected a film at all. Like Kurosawa, Dostoevsky is possibly my favorite author. He has a way of capturing the psychology of man and putting it on paper in a way no one else ever has. I'm not sure if this is what Kurosawa means about "human existence" (I think not), but we clearly agree on solid source material.

crossbow0106 Before watching this film, I read the 700 page novel. Obviously, Mr. Kurosawa had to omit characters and even chapters, but he has made a coherent, wonderful and even a little disturbing film about obsession. Kameda (Masayuli Mori) is given a reprieve from being shot by the Americans in Okinawa post war (a good context to begin this film, the book is set in Russia in the 1850's) and goes to relatives in Hokkaido. He sees a portrait of Taeko Nasu (Ms. Hara) and is just struck by it. He meets her and though she was about to give her answer to one man regarding marriage, she asks Kameda, a veritable stranger whom she feels knows her, to make the decision and he says no. She runs off with Akama (Mr. Mifune) and Kameda follows. Also in the mix is the young, very pretty Ayako (Yoshiko Kuga), who may instead be be throed to Kameda. The choices have to be made, but bear in mind Kameda is still beguiled by Taeko. The acting, with many actors you've seen before or since in films of the period from Japan, are all uniformly good, but no one holds a torch to Setsuko Hara's Taeko. Her role is all about expressions and emotions, and she is absolutely perfect. You see her anguish, her foreboding, her sarcasm in every scene. The beautiful Ms. Hara is just amazing in this role, as she was in so many others. If you are ambitious, read the book first and you'll see what a great job Mr. Kurosawa did in adapting and directing this film. Without reading the book, I don't think you'll like it as much but it will definitely hold your interest. Lastly, the term "The Idiot" is more about Kameda having fits (somewhat like epilepsy), not being weak of mind. One of Kurosawa's best, Setsuko Hara is phenomenal and it is an excellent adaptation to the classic novel.

euynawk I have just finished watching the 166min DVD of this most riveting movie. But must admit that, this is a second watching. The first time I watched it was 2 days ago, and I had to re-think many of the scenes to try and understand each one of them. By the way, I have not read the book. I only got half the picture (no pun intended ;)). Then decided must watch it again, to remove the lingering and unsettling kinks at the back of my head which refuse to go away for that 2 days. The only minor criticism is that the idiocy of Kameda is a little underplayed - his 'idiotic' countenance could be made a little more pronounced. As it is in the movie, he appears to be more of an angelic innocence rather than an idiotic but wordly-wise innocence - I tended to find in him a character more to be sympathised with than more as a lovable character (I wonder if Dostoyevsky meant for him to be sympathized with or to be loved - really don't know). As to this as a movie, now I am in total comprehension and appreciate what a great job Kurosawa did! This goes to my shelf of treasured DVDs.

yippeiokiyay One of Kurosawa's least-seen films is "The Idiot". The film is set in Hokkaido, the northernmost area of Japan. Deep snow covers the earth, and is shoveled into barriers, seeps in through the ruins of a warehouse in great drifts, piles up against the windows in crescents, howls fiercely as Toshiro Mifune's character and Matsayuki Mori's "Prince Myishkin" step foot off a train into a blizzard.Dostoevsky's great novel is the resource material.The Prince Myishkin character is Christ-like in the novel, and, as transplanted to Japan may be seen as a Boddhisatva-like character (an Avalokiteshvara or Kanon-a saint of compassion). Matsayuki Mori does an amazing job of portraying a damaged but compassionate soul..one that feels deeply the pain of those he encounters, and who speaks the truth simply, with a pure heart and an awareness of suffering. In one scene, he holds Toshiro Mifune's face between his small, gentle hands, and there is such a tender sensibility, his hands seem to communicate love and absorb the pain of Mifune's character. It is a breathtaking moment.Toshiro Mifune is brilliantly cast as the thuggish suitor who vies with Mori for the soul of the beautiful and doomed Taeko Nasu character played with uncharacteristic drama by Setsuko Hara.This complex, rich, layered, frightening, deeply disturbing film has been under-appreciated from the outset-beginning with the studio, which cut the film drastically (Kurosawa was outraged! *see trivia). Japanese audiences didn't understand or like the film, and other audiences have found it weird. Some of this relates directly to Donald Richie's seminal work on Kurosawa and his conclusion that "The Idiot" was a failure. Unfortunately, Richie's conclusion seems to have put replaced the nails in "The Idiot's" coffin with screws. It's very hard to pry open the film.Sure, it is a weird film...that's what is so interesting. Kurosawa has made one of the most powerfully strange films, while stretching the range of his actors (have you ever imagined you would see Setsuko Hara like this? She's terrifying in her desperation and pain!) giving the scenes a grounded reality, and allowing us to enter into the lives of these tragic, doomed souls.This is one of the finest films of world cinema, although one of the least-viewed.