Rhapsody in August
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Movie Reviews of Rhapsody in August
Movie Review: Fate hamstrings Kurosawa
Summary: 5 Stars
RHAPSODY IN AUGUST (original title Hachi-gatsu no kyôshikyoku, 1991) may well be Akira Kurosawa's lesser-known - if not least-known - film. It is a bit jarring to meander across this title and notice Richard Gere is in it (though it is a walk-on or a cameo, call it what you like).
An elderly grandmother, survivor of the bomb, cares for her grandchildren while their parents are away on business. In America, one of her many siblings, a brother, is on his deathbed and asks whether she might come and visit. The trouble is the war separated the family - grandma has no recollection of this particular brother.
Her goofy grandchildren, tactless and silly as can be expected, are her pride and joy. Though they cannot fathom the horrors grandma has experienced, they appreciate what she had to endure. The loss of her husband to the war being the worst - until fate presents her with something far worse.
Richard Gere plays the role of Clark, a half-American nephew of grandma's and heir to a pineapple fortune. Had this not been a Kurosawa film, it might have strayed into the maudlin, the ridiculous or the just plain stupid. It is in fact a haunting, touching tear-jerker ... for some reason not often televised or recognized even by some A.K. fans.
This is a gentle yet jarring film, about a simple family that has seen some weird and horrific things. It is about the bonds of love, what it means to have a family and be truly happy, what role fate plays ... and whether there is such a thing as fate.
You must own this!!
The cast (apart from Gere):
Sachiko Murase ... Kane
Hisashi Igawa ... Tadao
Narumi Kayashima ... Machino
Tomoko Ôtakara ... Tami
Mitsunori Isaki ... Shinjiro
Toshie Negishi ... Kane's daughter
Hidetaka Yoshioka ... Tateo
Choichiro Kawarazaki ... Noboru
Mieko Suzuki ... Minako
Movie Review: A Summer in Nagasaki...
Summary: 5 Stars
Four grandchildren are to spend the summer with their grandmother in Nagasaki as their parents are spending the summer vacationing in Hawaii. In Hawaii the parents are to meet their grandma's older brother, but she does not remember this brother as she had 11 or more siblings while growing up. In a letter the grandmother is invited to Hawaii, which excites the kids as they want to go to Hawaii. However, the grandmother is hesitant to leave, since the remembrance of her dead husband is coming up on August 9th. The kids learn through their stay in Nagasaki how their grandfather died from the atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. This knowledge brings the kids closer to their grandmother as she begin to share her stories about her brothers, which offers the children some excitement. Rhapsody in August is a melancholic cinematic experience as Kurosawa tells the tragedy of a family that is divided between those who remember the war and those who have only heard of it. In addition, Kurosawa demonstrates his message with subtle clarity that the agony of the war is being forgotten as family values change toward wealth and prestige where love and care for one another takes a backseat. In the end, Rhapsody in August is a tragic film that is well balanced as it displays hope through love and affection, which offers a terrific cinematic experience.Movie Review: The day the bomb fell life was never the same again...
Summary: 5 Stars
An elderly woman (Kane) played by Sachiko Murase lives in Nagasaki Japan. One memorable summer she takes care of her four grandchildren who inadvertently awaken in her the memory of the day that the atomic bomb fell in 1945, and how it deprived her of her husband. With the arrival of her American-Asian nephew from the US, played surprisingly well by Richard Gere who manages to speak Japanese without fluffing it too much, Kane is forced to re-evaluate how the dropping of the bomb has shaped her life and beliefs.
Haunted by the fact that she could not save her husband, and reliving the memories of that terrible day Kane strives to protect her family, and this culminates in her fleeing her house in a storm, clutching an umbrella as if this will protect her against the wrath of nature.
The scenery is breath taking, the acting brilliant and with a haunting sound track, this slow moving Japanese with English subtitles will make you look at the dropping of the atomic bomb with new and horrified eyes. An intelligent and thought provoking film for those people who like a movie with class and brains.
Movie Review: Most beautiful film
Summary: 5 Stars
In Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, a group of young people, through the guidance of their aging grandmother, discover what it means to grow up during the bombing of Nagasaki. The link to their past appears in the form of the AmerAsian cousin, who solemnly joins them at the memorial but then must return to Hawaii for the death of his father. As the elders age and near death, it is the children who witness life through new eyes, whose vision is tempered by the wisdom of their elders who have seen the unspeakable and yet live long enough to transmit the knowledge and the reverence for life in the face of man's destructive folly that is war.Movie Review: Rhapsody in August
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this movie,very moving and will grab you emotionally.Richard Gere has a small part in the movie does pretty good speaking Japanese.The grandmother retells the events of the day Nagasaki was bombed through her personal experiences. The grandchildren learn about a very important event that has become little more than a scary story to even most Japanese who were not alive during the war.As an American the stories the grandmother tells gave me a new appreciation of the cost of this terrible event.I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.Very good quality dvd.