I’m all for sentimentality and there was no shortage of it in this film. The professor was certainly a charming, quirky old man, but he must have been one hell of an orator to inspire such devotion in his students. I must admit that Kurosawa’s decline seems apparent even in this film. It must be difficult to know when to stop, to know in your heart of hearts that you no longer have the energy and force of will to pull greatness out of the mayhem of filmmaking.