Film studies... with Michael Gove

In an interview with 5 Live, Michael Gove compared differing recollections of “plebgate” with Akira Kurosawa’s classic Rashomon, in which the death of a samurai is told from four contradictory viewpoints

It was an unlikely reference point. In an interview with 5 Live, Michael Gove compared differing recollections of "plebgate" with Akira Kurosawa's classic Rashomon, in which the death of a samurai is told from four contradictory viewpoints – so the viewer never finds out exactly what happened. It's not a bad defence, really. We'll never know, so let's move on.

This page has previous for commending Gove's tastes (his excellent specs, for one), but a Kurosawa reference on 5 Live? Well played, sir. Gove's next challenge is to find an appropriate Kurosawa reference for other government business.

How about Seven Samurai as an allegory for Cameron, Gove and five chums' protection of the public purse from the trade unions? The eventual mutual-destruction of just about everyone in Ran to describe Coalition in-fighting? Sounds about right.