Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Aiden Melton
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
lreynaert
Akira Kurosawa is a director with a big heart, who tackles significant human problems at all levels (socio-political, economic, social or psychological). His films are always focused on individual human beings with their love of life, their courage, magnanimity or sexuality, but also with their violence, vices, credulity or thirst for power. His movies illustrate in a sublime manner the harsh battle for survival of ordinary people against the forces of evil (politicians, generals, robbers or other wicked people). They shine through their sincerity, their overwhelming emotions and Kurosawa's brilliant directing (cast as well as camera) with scenes and images that take the viewer by the throat.This movie is a perfect example of Kurosawa's true craftsmanship. Its theme is nothing less than the effect of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Its effect is that 'angels weep'. They weep because those who are responsible for the launch of the bomb argued that the 'Lightning' was necessary to end the war. But the 'Lightning' continues to kill. It still causes mighty suffering for innocent people and that for the rest of their lives. Moreover, those who launched the atomic bomb do not like to remember it. They prefer to forget all the victims, also those who survived the 'Lightning'.At the heart of this movie stands a grandmother who lost most of her family in the disaster, except, among other people, a brother who emigrated to the US. She wants to see him before she dies. In the meantime, her four grandchildren as well as an American nephew (played by Richard Gere) pay a visit to her. But, the memory of the disaster continues to haunt her. When a violent thunderstorm erupts over her village, she believes that a new bomb has fallen on the city of Nagasaki. She runs desperately to the rescue of the 'new victims'. With a courageous Richard Gere in an amazing role, this movie is a must for all movie lovers and for all fans of Akira Kurosawa.
Magic Lamp
The movie is a reflection on the impact of the bombing of Nagasaki. By virtue of that, its reminiscent, its melancholy in parts, its a tribute to those who died and those who continue to live in grief of those who died. There are some other-worldly aspects to it - the eye of the nuclear mushroom, the imp in the waterfall, the defiant walk of the grandma in the last scene. She steps out in torrential rain and walks – walks compelled by her past memories, towards her past memories. Its defiant and also tragic. The scene with her entire family running after her is maybe too theatrical but it makes a lasting impact. Richard Gere does a cameo as the second generation bridge with America. Perhaps his character creates both the continuity and the break from the grandma's past. The respect for the past he conveys perhaps provides validation and closure which had been pending for her.
rooprect
This is the toughest negative review I've ever written. I love Kurosawa's work; his films are deeply philosophical and unquestionably artistic. Also I have very deep sympathy and respect for the 200,000 Japanese civilians who were broiled alive when that idiot Truman decided to play boom boom with his new toy. As far as "preaching to the choir" goes, I AM THE CHOIR.But someone has to say it. This movie was awful. It was so clumsy and melodramatic that it made a mockery of both Kurosawa and the atomic tragedy he portrays. Like my title implies, it's the "ABC afterschool special" version of life after the atomic bomb, complete with a cast of sappy kids, an overly-sentimental script, amateur editing and a philosophical message so vapid that it wouldn't fill the back of a postcard.Have you ever sat around at Thanksgiving dinner listening to your great-grandmother ramble incoherently about something of great importance? She repeats herself. She takes 10 minutes to communicate the simplest thought. And when it's all over, no one knows or cares what she was talking about because the presentation was so damn irritating. That's what you get here.I'll give you an example of one scene. The scene shows the widowed grandmother praying before some lighted candles. It should be obvious that she's paying respects to her dead husband killed by the bomb. But just in case you didn't catch that--just in case you thought she was playing bingo or something--here's how the script goes:Kid #1: What's that about?Kid #2: Chanting Buddhist sutras.Kid #3: It's a service for the souls of the departed.Kid #2: It's August. Soon it'll be Atomic Bomb Day.Kid #3: August 9th.Kid #4: The day grandpa died.(camera lingers for 5 or 10 seconds)Oh puh-leez. I think we got the message ten minutes ago. What could have been a gripping moment is now just an irritating waste of film and dialogue (with bad acting to boot). I could see the audience collectively rolling its eyes, and I'm ashamed to admit I was rolling along with them.Don't even get me started on the people in the audience who reacted defensively, believing this to be an anti-American slam. Obviously it's NOT. But I can understand how people might come away with that impression. Kurosawa lays it on so thick that you can't help but feel like he's pointing the finger of blame. If he HAD made it an anti-American film (or at least anti-idiot-Truman), then I would have found it much more interesting. But instead, it's just an overinflated pity party that never ends. There's no conflict; all the characters agree that the bomb sucked. All the characters bow their heads. All the characters feel sorry. For 2 hours it's a one-way ticket to "waaah".Save yourself the violin strings. Skip this movie and watch the documentary "Nagasaki: The Horror and Legacy of Fat Man" (1995) which is a gripping testament to the suffering and madness experienced by the Japanese civilians. Or if you want to enjoy a GOOD sentimental film of Kurosawa, watch "Ikuru" (1952). But I can't think of a single reason why anyone would want to watch this movie.
Howard Schumann
Equipped only with a blown out umbrella twisted into the shape of a flower, an old lady, like some ancient Samurai warrior, braves a blinding rainstorm to plea for ending the inhumanity of war. One of his most lyrical and poetic works, Akira Kurosawa's second to last film, Rhapsody in August is about four young Japanese teenagers who stay with their grandmother one summer near Nagasaki and learn about the atomic destruction of their city on August 9, 1945. The film is both a lament for the suffering caused by militarism and an outcry against the world's collective loss of memory.When the children visit their elderly grandmother, Kané (86-year old Sachiko Murase), she tells them that their grandfather died in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, an event in their country's history that they know very little about. Concerned that the teenagers cannot understand the suffering that had occurred, and the possibility of such an event occurring again, Kané relates personal stories about her experience on that terrible day. Building bridges between generations through her stories, she is able to have the children look past the consumerist values instilled in them by their parents and discover both their countries heritage and the values in life that are most important. As the old woman tells each tale, the children are both curious and moved by their power and mysticism and visit the sites she describes in her stories.They see the decaying remains of two old trees intertwined forever after a lightning storm. They visit the school yard where their grandfather died and see what is left of a jungle gym, now a pile of melted twisted metal that has become a memorial to those children and adults that suffered and died on that day. The film is haunted by Kané's attempt to cope with the emotional consequences of the bombing, an event that most are unable to remember, but that she is unable to forget. She tells the story of her younger brother, a painter, who could only paint eyes, specifically a large red eye, the "eye of the flash" that signaled the disaster in which 39,000 people were killed and an estimated 75,000 died years after.The children's parents have gone to visit Kané's brother who emigrated tom Hawaii in 1920 to run a pineapple plantation and married a Caucasian American. One of ten brothers, Sujijiro, now in failing health, wants to see his sister before he dies but she is reluctant to go in spite of the urging of the children who drool over pictures of her brother's affluent surroundings. When the parents return from Hawaii, wishing to establish good relations with the wealthy Hawaiian family, they try to persuade Kané to go. When Clark (Richard Gere), Sujijiro's son, flies to Nagasaki, the parents are sure it is because he wants to end the proposed visit, resenting the implication that America caused his Uncle's death.When Clark arrives, however, the family discovers the opposite. Although Gere does not look the part of a Japanese-American, his warmth, sincerity, and passion for peace more than compensate and his time in the film is one of the highlights. He first expresses his remorse for his uncle's death in the bombing and visits the shrines in Nagasaki with the four children and their parents. Some critics say the film alludes only to the dropping of the atomic bomb and not to any of the events that preceded it, including the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. However, it is clearly Kurosawa's intention to dramatize the futility of war, not the wrongdoing of one country.In a tender conversation with Kané, Clark apologizes for what he "should" have said but Kané repeatedly and simply responds, "it's all right", blame it on the war", pointing out that many Americans as well as Japanese died in the fighting. Kané agrees to go to Hawaii but only after joining in a memorial service to the Nagasaki victims, repeating the mantra of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (Buddhist deity), "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha" - "gone, gone, everyone gone to the other shore". One of the loveliest scenes in the film is the sight of a colony of ants climbing the stem of a rose bush, a final epiphany suggesting that amidst the destruction, beauty and hope survive.
