Great self-portrait of the early days of one of my favorite movie directors, who made The Seven Samurai, my favorite film. Very interesting. ( )

Something like an autobiography, and something much more like a memoir, which is no bad thing. Kurosawa explains that he'd rather his work speak for him, but that in his old age, he's been persuaded to write about himself.

The first half of the book beautifully evokes the pre-war Japan of his childhood, his adventures with his friends, his brother and parents. Then, his 'bohemian' period as a struggling painter and writer, then his almost accidental entry into the movie industry. The later chapters revolve around his film-making and studio politics, but always involve the personal, rather than dry history. He ends with the production of his classic film, Rashomon, on 1950, saying he'd now written enough and he was losing interest in the memoir project. An honest (though he questions his own honesty), fascinating, and conversational account of a major figure of 20th century culture. ( )

I'm not a huge film buff, but I do like "The Seven Samurai" and I know the influence this man had on George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. This autobiography does not extend beyond the release of Rashomon in 1950, although there are brief glimpses of moments beyond that up to 1983. The first half of the book is devoted to Kurosawa's childhood and education. Japan's culture is entirely foreign to my own but I could easily relate to early lessons learned about parents, siblings, bullies, teachers good and bad, self-confidence, success and failure, and the odd role that chance plays in one's life. Aimless in his youth, all of his varied artistic interests conspired to make him a powerful film director, a line of work he almost accidentally stumbled into.

Kurosawa's writing is informal and easy, and the material is well organized. He's very honest in his self-assessment, presenting a three-dimensional self portrait that acknowledges weaknesses; he even proposes what his blind spots might be, urging the reader to take these into account. I wasn't as taken up by the second half which mentioned only highlights of his experiences while making his first several films, and centered more on the people he worked with and circumstances he faced than his personal development. Its best aspect was the insight into Japanese film industry and how that contrasts with the Hollywood experience. This portion would be of more interest to film buffs. It wasn't enough to make me start looking for his early works, but I'll keep this biography as a handy reference for trivia if I ever track them down in future. ( )