MortalKombatFan1
Akira Kurosawa directs this 1991 film about three generations of a Japanese family who deal with the bombing of Nagasaki by US forces. The central focus of the film is a domestic drama between a old woman and her visiting grandchildren at her country home. Their parents are away seeing distant relatives in Hawaii, including a man who claims to be the grandmother's long lost brother. The kids convince her to go see him, but she's hesitant as she can't remember him - the rest of her family being killed in the nuclear blast.The movie focuses on her remembering her family and recounting to the kids stories of her past. In these quiet scenes of domesticity, Kurosawa maintains a level of serenity and allows the actors show off subtle, understated emotion (one example being early on when the grandmother, played by Sachiko Murase feels rejected when the children insist on cooking because they don't like her food).In comparison, when the kids go out to the city to find out more about the bombing, the movie becomes a bit overly dramatic, with classical music playing over the images of past sufferings (memorials, etc.). It didn't affect me emotionally as much as I would have wanted.Richard Gere's performance as the Japanese-American nephew is also a highlight of the movie. His scene where he apologies for the death of his aunt's husband in the bombing being an affecting one.Overall, I liked most of the movie - some of it I didn't like, but it's definitely worth watching for it's quiet dramatics, subtle themes and sometimes brilliant visuals.
poe426
Nagasaki is often overlooked when mention is made of the 1945 Atomic bombings of Japan. Recent revelations suggest that NEITHER bombing was in fact necessary "to put an end to hostilities." What this says about US is all too clear. Like it or not. As I write this, Israel's month-long "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza is (at least momentarily) being suspended. (As Norman Finkelstein points out, this is referred to by the Israelis as "mowing the grass.") "We're going to put the Palestinians on a diet," the Israeli authorities boasted before the "cleansing" began. And WE- the United $tate$- added fuel to the fire by supplying weapons to the Israelis throughout "the long, dark night." Among the memorable images: a freezer stacked full of dead babies and the bodies of handicapped children murdered by I$raeli soldiers. (And M.I.T.'s Theodore Postol points out that the much-vaunted "Iron Dome" the U.$. helps maintain is nothing less than a costly SHAM.) It's a propensity we seem to have in this country: we initiate or at the least facilitate mass murder around the world and then absolve ourselves of all wrongdoing. But, somehow, Life goes on; blooms anew in the ashes of the wreckage(s) we've caused. RHAPSODY IN AUGUST is the kind of movie that should be shown in History classes in this country; it sure couldn't hurt...
trochesset
The casting and dressing of the children. Not only are all of them horrible little actors, but their constumes are hideous, and the writing for them makes me cringe. If they weren't the main characters and the ones carrying the story along, then I may be able to overlook these flaws, but these are no minor flaws.The best parts of the film involve the grandma, be it her at the temple, her during the lightning storm at the house, or her running off in the rain, these were all well acted, all well shot, but not enough to save this production.Of the 19 Kurosawa films I have seen, this is easily the worst.3/10
MartinHafer
This story is about the grandkids who come to stay with their elderly grandmother while their families go on vacation. At first, the kids are pretty bored living out in the country, but over time they grow to appreciate the simplicity as well as the chance to spend quality time with grandma. Slowly, she begins to talk to them about the past. It seems that their parents have never really told them about this--in particular, how grandma had survived a nuclear attack but had lost most of those she held dear. Unfortunately, while this is slowly revealed, at the same time, grandma's mind begins to wane and she ultimately degenerates into senility and despair. Later, the parents and Richard Gere of all people return and they talk about the past--until Gere finds out that his Japanese father died and he is wanted back home to make arrangements. A very odd film but interesting because it deals with the long-term impact of war.
AD
