Madadayo
1993, NR, 134 min.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring Akira Terao, Masayuki Yui, George Tokoro, Hisashi Igawa, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuo Matsumura.

Kurosawa’s 30th and last film is Madadayo, which translates as “not yet.” Regarded as one of his most personal films, Kurosawa uses incidents in the life of celebrated Japanese writer and teacher Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971) to present a kind of parallel to his own life. Uchida retired from teaching in 1943 to write, and stayed in Tokyo throughout the war. His students stayed involved in his life following his retirement and he remained their mentor until his death. The movie is a study in quiet revelations.

This article appears in December 1 • 2000.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US

Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.