] Angela Baldassarre Akira Kurosawa's name is the most familiar to Western audiences among Japanese directors and it was his film Rashomon that introduced the West to the wealth of Japanese cinema when it won the top prize at the 1951 Venice Film Festival and a Special Oscar as Best Foreign Picture of that year. Long unavailable on Canadian screens, the classic movie is having several screenings (June 13, 17, 18) thanks to Cinematheque Ontario which was able to secure a few prints. A powerful study in ambiguity, rich in symbolism and psychological insight, Rashomon not only opened Western theatres to many subsequent Japanese productions, but directly inspired two American remakes: The Outrage starring Paul Newman, and a feature-length TV production starring Ricardo Montalban. Set in 12th century Kyoto, and starring legendary actor Toshiro Mifune, Rashomon features four different versions of a case of rape and murder; four perspectives which dissect a society's relationship with dark obsession. Also part of Cinematheque Ontario's spring program is A New Day in Taiwan: The Films of Edward Wang, a retrospective of one of the Taiwanese New Wave's principal filmmakers. Like others in the '80s New Wave, Wang pursued provocative subject matter, hired non-professional actors and employed new film technology. One of his most important films is last year's A Confucian Confusion (June 17) which adopts Confucian writings to tell the tale of a struggling writer desperate to strike it big by dispersing controversy about the ancient philosopher. All screenings take place at AGO's Jackman Hall, 317 Dundas St. West. For more information, call 968-FILM. *** Toronto's first Film Social Centre is hosting an open Schmooze every Thursday between 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The evening will feature video screenings and live entertainment for a pay-what-you-can fee. Everything takes place at Wraptors, 328 Bloor St. W., 925-7827. *** Production has begun in Los Angeles on Scott Silver's The Mod Squad. Based on Aaron Spelling's classic television series with a '70's sensibility, the film stars Clare Danes, Giovanni Ribisi and Omar Epps. The Mod Squad will be released by MGM in early 1999. *** It's June and The Movie Network is presenting its Summer Movie Mania series featuring hit summer flicks. Watch out for Con Air starring Nicolas Cage (June 19); Volcano with Tommy Lee Jones (June 26); and Batman and Robin (June 28). Meanwhile Moviepix is presenting its Disaster Classics triple-bills: Krakatoa, Earthquake and The Last Voyage (June 14); The Cassandra Crossing, Hurricane, and Avalanche (June 21); and The Concorde, The Devil at 4 O'Clock and The Neptune Factor (June 28). *** Tvo's Saturday Night at the Movies series presents a Miniver double-bill on June 13. First up is Mrs. Miniver, William Wyler's classic 1942 film about an average English family as it copes with the war; followed by The Miniver Story, the sequel which focuses on the family's post-war lives. 8pm. Angela Baldassarre can be heard live on Reel Entertainment at www.virtuallycanadian.com