'Rashomon' X 'Stormy Weather' X 'Kal Ho Naa Ho'
Some rain-soaked love triangles to help you get through the week. April showers bring May flowers, as Kubrick used to say.
There’s no hit musical titled “Singing in the Dryness,” as far as I know.
Rain adds drama. Abandoned lovers run through storms to prove their devotion. Climactic fight scenes play out in punches and drips (I’m looking at you, Bladerunner). Lena Horne sure had something to sing about in Stormy Weather (1943):
KAL HO NAA HO
Hollywood loves rain, but I never happened to work on set with rain towers until I gaffed the New York unit of a Bollywood movie. Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) was the first major Indian film to shoot in America, and they brought the big guns: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Saif Ali Khan for good measure.
Bollywood films require a good rainstorm, just like the musical numbers. Usually, the rain comes close to the end, and the protagonist is at their lowest moment, lovelorn and needing liquid redemption.
From my set perspective, I was less concerned with the on-screen sparks and more worried about the safety of my lights and electrical distribution. All of our power distro boxes and Camloc connectors had to be raised on apple boxes and wrapped in plastic, but most concerning was keeping the water out of the hot lights, which would have shattered if the cold water had hit their glass filters.
Without those backlights, you can’t see the rain on film.
As I said, rain adds drama. Or, sometimes, melodrama (not using that as a slur, btw):
AKIRA KUROSAWA
Rain had tremendous meaning for Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa as well. The weather in his films is never a coincidence. For him, rain represents a thoughtful, reflective moment for a character. It adds intensity to the final battle in Seven Samurai and many other scenes throughout his career, but none more central to the story than in Rashomon (1950).
RASHOMON
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before - a Priest, a Commoner, and a Woodcutter walk into a bar…
Just kidding, they take shelter from a violent storm during an era of social upheaval and natural catastrophe…but only one walks away with a baby!
A rainstorm sets the story in motion in Rashomon, the film that brought Kurosawa to international prominence. Three travelers are stranded at the Rashomon Gate, a portal close to Kyoto that provides shelter, prompting them to converse. One brings up a recent trial case that has shaken his belief in humanity - a story of rape and murder told from three conflicting perspectives, including the dead victim.
As the narratives intertwine, the audience must figure out who is telling the truth.
Kurosawa uses visual juxtapositions to enhance the narrative. As the story moves into flashbacks, rain is replaced by ‘nomorebi,’ the Japanese term for “sunlight leaking through trees.” Kurosawa is reportedly the first filmmaker to point the camera directly at the sun, overcoming fears that it would burn the film.
This sequence gets the plot moving, transporting the audience back in time, seeing the story from the Woodcutter’s perspective. After eight minutes of static wet shots, we are treated to dynamic dolly moves through dappled light as we enjoy a ‘day in the life of a woodcutter’ sequence.
His demeanor and the coverage are designed to win over the audience - who can’t help but like this simple man of the forest? But is he hiding something?
Dappled sunlight in a forest is difficult to shoot on film without either overexposing the highlights or underexposing the shadows. Kurosawa’s cinematographer, Kazuo Miyagawa, creates dynamic shots that flirt with the exposure extremes and push the film to its limits. The figures are edge-lit and arranged in striking compositions as they face off and fight.
But who has killed whom?
Despite the harsh reality, he expertly captures the desperation of the scenes that form the central narrative. This high-contrast look plays against the muted grey tones of the men huddled under the gate.
So, who’s lying?
You have to watch the film to find out the truth, I don’t want to spoil a 75-year-old movie! So, as you watch it, look for hints of deception in each character’s words and actions. Watch how the director selects each angle for different perspectives of the story.
And if you’ve already seen it, watch it again! It gets better each time. Here’s the original trailer:
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ONE MORE DANCE, PLEASE!
And as a last bonus link, please enjoy the closing number in Stormy Weather, with Cab Calloway and the incredible tap dancing of the Nicholas Brothers, colorized with AI!:
Alan how could you not include The Notebook !!!
Good call, Vaneeza! Have never seen it! I know, I know, how can I watch Diary of a Country Priest and not The Notebook. Just a lapse in judgment, I guess! Give me a good paragraph on it and I'll port it in at the end.