Rhapsody in August
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Movie Reviews of Rhapsody in August
Movie Review: DVD Review
Summary: 3 Stars
Rhapsody in August is not a Kurosawa masterpiece, but still provides several stunning scenes that hold up to the best of the director's career. In the 15 Kurosawa films I've seen he hasn't ever made a bad film. Rhapsody is weak Kurosawa, but even in this (his second to last film) he still managed to create images that only he could make. An image and a colony of ants crawling on the flower and the final shot of an old woman struggling against windswept rain stand among the best of Kurosawa. The film's single most powerful sequence comes in stunning scene when children of ww2 visit a school yard to pay respects to their dead classmates. Kurosawa has them enter in the distance as today's children play and slowly approach a melted jungle gym monument, accompanied only by the sounds of the children at play. The moment is pure Kurosawa and intensely moving. The film is uneven and oddly structured in scenes that shift the focus of the film in awkward ways. Really what hurts the film the most is the biazzare inclusion of Richard Gere. His prescence ruined the mood for the film. The film tends to shift tone too often from playful to satrical to emotional to commentating.
Rhapsody just doesn't stand up as strong in comparison to other works in the Kurosawa canon.
Film: 3 out of 5.
The MGM dvd is very sparse. Picture is very good in color and contrast. Sharpness is a little weak and some cuts seemed like the picture was a bit shakey. Twice I saw small dirt specks. Presented in 1:85:1 the picture is very good in keeping detail in dark scenes. Sound was extraordinary. I was very surprised to find a vivid and strong soundtrack. Just listen to the locus sounds and the music cues, the Japanese soundtrack packs a good punch. Subtitles are avaible, but most annoyingly Gere's English dialogue is subtitled. There aren't any extras other then an unsubitled Japanese Trailer. No booklet or insert!
DVD 3 out of 5.
Movie Review: Visually beautiful, but still falls short
Summary: 3 Stars
Akira Kurosawa's film addressing the impact of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki from the perspective of nearly 40 years after the fact lacks the dramatic intensity of his earlier films. There are touches of the old Kurosawa, but for the most part, the dialog is stilted and the storyline flat. The finest performance comes from Sachiko Murase, who plays the elderly grandmother who survived the attack and tries to convey to her grandchildren a sense of how it changed lives.
While the scenes of the Japanese countryside are visually beautiful, and there is a very moving scene shot at the Nagasaki memorial, this film doesn't go far enough in its examination of the moral issues involved in the nuclear attack and the lasting consequences of it. Many questions were raised, but few answers given. The slightly surreal ending seems contrived, especially in comparison to the slow, almost plodding pace of the rest of the film.
Movie Review: Akira Kurosawa vs. Richard Gere
Summary: 3 Stars
What happens when a truly great film-maker meets a truly bad actor? In this case, it is still watchable, but not nearly as good as it could have been.
Gere's performance is wooden and lifeless. The Japanese actors manage to convey more emotions and more feeling despite speaking entirely in Japanese.
It's still a good movie, and if you're a big fan of Kurosawa you will definitely want this movie, but Gere definitely hurts it.
Movie Review: A Real Rhapsody, Like Maborosi - A Specialized Choice
Summary: 3 Stars
This movie reminds me a lot of Maborosi: slow, beautiful, true ring to it for its conclusion.
If you want action, don't watch this movie. The actors seemed a little stiff all through the feature. And come on, no teenager stays with Grandma to help her remember her brothers and sisters! A few scenes were a little fake like that.
If you like Maborosi, you will like this movie.