Rhapsody in August
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Movie Reviews of Rhapsody in August
Movie Review: Perspectives
Summary: 4 Stars
I was rather surprized by "Rhapsody in August". I am a big fan of Kurosawa's movies and this one seemed to be missing his usual stamp of excellence. Unlike his other movies that I have seen, this seemed to be a theater play brought to the screen. The color and settings were nice but nothing of the level and scope of what seemed to be standard for this director. As a result, my initial impression was disappointment. However, Kurosawa was also the writer as well as the director and the impact of the script brought the movie up a notch after I had time to reflect on it.
This is a tale of a tragedy of major proportions; The second atomic bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki in WWII. The tragic beauty of the tale is in how it shows the different perspectives from different generations and different countries. The essential points of view are that of an elderly woman who was nearby when the bomb was dropped (and whose husband was incinerated in the blast), her children who knew the after-effects more than the event itself, and her children who only knew of the event in history books. There is also the inferred perspective of her elder brother who emmigrated to Hawaii in the 1920's (and his son who didn't seem to have any perspective). With the grandmother, the memories are generally repressed and unspoken but her grandchildren (who are staying with her while their parents are visiting the rich uncle in Hawaii) bring her memories to life. Grandmother's children seem to see the event as a little-understood somber event that is viewed more in terms of how it will interfere with their current lives. It is the four grandchildren of ages 12-18 (my guess) that serve as the catalysts for the expressions and reflections of the others. The Grandmother's older brother has been feting (off screen) some of her children and it is their concern about offending this US citizen that stirs the emotional reactions even further. A telegram sent to their uncle has given them the impression of having upset him. That, in turn, upsets them. For no understandable reason, his son (played absent-mindedly by Richard Gere) comes to visit them. The final scene is that of a search for an understanding that seems too elusive to find. The challenges and pitfalls of that search for meaning suggests that it may be why the world has largely left the event to history.
Americans have debated the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan that eneded WWII. There are still disagreements on that decision. I have always understood the decision to be the right one. I, like many others, feel this way because of the near suicidal way the Japanese seemed ready to defend their homeland to the last survivior. The act, in theory, saved untold thousands (maybe millions) of lives on both sides. However, it is still surprising to reflect that the US is the only country that ever used the atomic weapon on another country. Kurosawa's take on the morality of the act is to blame war and not countries. He may, however, have gotten some minor measure of revenge on Americans by having Richard Gere portray us so ineptly.
Movie Review: Still life with atomic bomb
Summary: 4 Stars
Even a master like Kurosawa must occasionally make a non-masterpiece. Overwhelmed by his own desire to make a political point, he forgot to be a story teller and "Rhapsody in August" ends up falling flat. Not that it is a bad film, as even a flat Kurosawa film is worth watching, and there are flashes of pure brilliance and some incredibly moving images, but on the whole it doesn't compare favorably with his body of work.
The story is an inter-generational one, focused on an aging grandmother, Kane, who hosts her grandchildren in her rural home in Nagasaki while their parents visit relatives in Hawaii. Kane is a hibakusha, one who experienced the dropping of the atomic bomb during WWII, during which her husband was killed. For Kane, the atomic bomb is a very real thing, while for her grandchildren it is a distant sob-story they were forced to memorize at school. Richard Gere makes an awkward appearance as Kane's half-American grandson from Hawaii, speaking stilted Japanese, but doing his best to fit into the overall story.
Much of the controversy on this film is about Kurosawa's point of view of Japan as a victimized nation of the US war crime of dropping the atomic bomb, a point of view that is very much prevalent in Japan even today. To the Japanese, the story of Nagasaki is very much that of regular civilians like Kane, who were not part of the war, who were not off killing and maiming in China or doing anything else the US politicians use to justify the bomb, but who suffered the brunt of the US attack in spite of their innocence. Much of the story rings true in this sense. When I visited the Nagasaki Peace Park, and saw the monuments donated by the nations of the world, I too looked for the US monument and was surprised not to find one. Seeing this scene played out on film hit close to home, and I realized that must be the general reaction to everyone who visits the park.
But the flaws of "Rhapsody in August" are not the controversial message, but just the general malaise of a film without inspiration. The scenes of the urban schoolchildren at play in rural Japan are excellent, and a spot-on Summer Idyll of kids that age stuck in that situation. Kane's scenes with Richard Gere are quite touching, showing the power of communication across generations and language, simply by being together. However much of the story seems to go forward in a heavy-handed rather than natural direction, and much of the dialog is stiff and unnatural.
Movie Review: Does anybody know about the music?
Summary: 4 Stars
In this movie there is one scene (if I^m not mistaken it is the visit to the place where they commemorate the victims of bombing) where you have either a requiem or a Stabat Mater.Does anyone know about the composer?? Thank you.
Movie Review: Kurosawa's Majesty on a Low Flame in Minor League Anti-War Film
Summary: 3 Stars
The best of intentions certainly infuse Akira Kurosawa's penultimate film released in 1991, but unfortunately it really doesn't move me despite the worthy subject of dealing with the years-later aftermath of the atomic bomb dropped in Japan. Much of the problem is the glacial pacing and the stilted emphasis on the children's perspective which prevents the film from gaining any subtlety or emotional resonance. Set forty-five years after the end of WWII, the plot centers on four Japanese children who visit their grandmother Kane in Nagasaki for the summer. As the anniversary of the atomic attack draws near, they learn about the bomb's deadly legacy. Their grandfather died in the blast, and as we learn, Kane has never really resolved her quiet resentment. Every August, she pays tribute to her dead husband at a religious shrine. Unfortunately, Kurosawa paints the children in such broad, sitcom-level strokes that make it nearly impossible to empathize with their inquisitive concern about their grandmother.
On the other hand, 86-year old Sachiko Murase is exquisite as the wizened Kane as she exhibits the inner conflict within her character when she realizes she may have to face the prospect of meeting Japanese-American relatives in Hawaii, including an older brother she cannot recall knowing among ten siblings. The brother, who has become a naturalized American citizen and married a Caucasian, is ailing and wants to see Kane before he dies. Desperate to visit Hawaii, one of the children writes a letter to the brother, which prompts the brother's son to visit to apologize for the bombing. The weight of a national conscience seems overemphasized here, especially as embodied by Richard Gere in an extended cameo as the brother's half-Japanese son, Clark. Gere's appearance, despite his good intentions in light of his pacifist position, is distracting to say the least, especially since he does not look the least bit Japanese. While his accent is decent enough, his cadence when speaking is halting to the point of sounding rather Berlitz-trained. It's actually not a bad performance but certainly not a necessary one given the number of Japanese-American actors who could have played the part with greater ease.
The film ends on a rather surreal note as Kane fights a rainstorm that has clouds that remind her of the bomb's immediate aftermath. This sequence is fraught with symbolism but seems emotionally vague as it goes on endlessly. There are random moments when the Kurosawa touch is evident, for example the composed shots of the old women in prayer or the use of a gnarled jungle gym as a symbol of the bomb (and perhaps as a tribute to the playground built in his classic film, "Ikiru"). He also effectively uses Vivaldi's "Stabat Mater" as background music during key scenes. At the same time, as a Japanese-American, I was hoping that Kurosawa would have delved into the complexities of the decisions behind the atomic bomb and how the Japanese have attempted to reconcile the act with their own culpability during the war. Instead, the movie becomes a highly simplified anti-war polemic under the guise of a family film.
Movie Review: A reconciliation story that never lives up to its ambition
Summary: 3 Stars
RHAPSODY IN AUGUST is an Akira Kurosawa film approached from three different angles, all couched around the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The film's central character, Kane, is visited by her grandchildren in Nagasaki; Kane's husband was killed by the bomb. The generational gap between her and the children is achingly apparent. The bombing will forever be a part of her psyche, but the kids are initially unaffected by the history. They're thoroughly modern down to their clothes with American logos. In effect, the film's theme is about keeping the memory and indeed, the warning of Nagasaki alive.Later on, we hear of a rich Japanese-American son-in-law from Hawaii, played by Richard Gere (speaking in Japanese!), whose purpose inadvertently points out that American and Japanese perceptions of the atomic bombings may never be reconciled. By using Gere's character as somehow an apologist for the Nagasaki anniversary, I think Kurosawa makes a mistake by seeking simple answers for the bombing and the war, when there are none.
The story threads have enormous potential, but never reach a real emotional impact. The film feels restless, and never achieves the kind of sensitivity and patience it really requires to let the theme resonate.
One of the dichotomies of the film is that the theme is largely approached from the children's perspective, which makes a lot of sense, although it never allows us close enough to their grandmother's story to carry enough weight.
I was also disappointed by the fact that Kane, who begins the story with a great deal of dignity, becomes increasingly delusional over the course of the film and comes to resemble a Kurosawa character from a decade earlier. The film ends with that unfortunate image of her, and it undermines the very message of the film itself.
There are two signature Kurosawa moments which make the film worth seeing by themselves. One is a symbolic shot as Gere's attention diverts to watch a trail of ants climbing a lovely rose. The second shot is of the children as they look in a window at their grandmother and her friend as they sit completely silent, highlighting the distance between the generations.
I will not attempt to justify this film as greater than it is just because of the master's cinematic history. This is far from a five-star film, and it easily ranks in the lower third of Kurosawa's portfolio. It is an interesting movie, with a few memorable scenes, but no one should mistake this for any of his classics. Two-and-a-half stars.