solid gold

madadayo is akira kurosawa’s final film, about a professor who retires once he decides he can live on the income from his writing, and his former students who honor him with a birthday party each year where he proclaims “madadayo! (not yet!)” when they ask “mahda-kai? (are you ready?)”

there are a few particularly brilliant sequences in the film, but one of the things that really grabbed me was one of the first shots, when the professor walks into his classroom and there is a cloud of smoke hanging in the air.

it is a deliberately paced film, and i’m sure not for everyone, but i really enjoyed it.