Recent Reviews for Rhapsody in August


  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    September 7, 2007
    Nice but ultra-minor late Kurosawa. A striking visual or three does not overcome the Richard Gere factor.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    August 16, 2007
    Kurosawa entered his vigorous golden age with this very enjoyable and tender family story. Strong anti-war statement too.
  • 5.0 Stars
    MCT:
    June 15, 2007
    This is very interesting. A grandmother reminices of the bombings of World War II and an estrange American family member visits. It is not all about them but it rotates around the grandchildren.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    May 1, 2007
    Not Kurosawa's best but a very tender story capturing the escence of post-nuclear japanese society. Richard Gere makes a well thought perfomance.
  • 3.0 Stars
    MCT:
    April 8, 2007
    pretty decent film. a late film for kurosawa made toward the end of his life, its one of my least favorite of his but still a great watch. this is a film about 4 kids spending the summer with their grandma in nagasaki reliving the events of the atomic bomb in 1945. richard gere appears in this film and was a little miscast. gere being in this film is maybe the only decision kurosawa has ever made that i would question, but this was still a solid film. a problem that i had as an american was that the japanese characters were a little condemning about the US dropping the a-bomb, which they have a right to be, but they never mention the fact that we dropped the bomb because they attacked us first. they make it sound like we dropped the a-bomb because we had nothing better to do that day. but it was still great to see the japanese perspective on a horific event in human history.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    March 15, 2007
    Amazingly told.Simply the best.One of the most lyrical and poetic works,from Mr.Kurosawa.The flick is both a lament for the suffering caused by militarism and an outcry against the world's collective loss of memory.My most favorite 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.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    February 20, 2007
    Such an invigorating movie. Some of the actors in this movie were so good I was actually almost suprised that they wern't just normal people telling their story.Akira Kurosawa did an amzing job at directing this movie! As much as there were parts of this movie that I found extremely funny it also took on such a serious topic without ruining any part of the movie. Some of the movies scenery was just simply breath taking! Some certain characters in this movie I disliked, but overall all the characters were very interesting. Although I must admit that at times I was a bit creeped out watching this movie! Yet this movie showed some very interesting thoughts and all in all I think this movie was very very good. :)
  • 4.5 Stars
    MCT:
    February 1, 2007
    The first Kurosawa film I ever saw, I was stunned by this director's skill and power with film. Beautiful.
  • 5.0 Stars
    MCT:
    January 24, 2007
    This is such a beautiful film. I'm giving it the highest rating because everything is just right. No tweaking of any kind could have made it better, it's just a brilliant piece of art.
  • 3.5 Stars
    MCT:
    January 13, 2007
    A film about understanding where you come from with the atomic bombing of Japan as the genesis. Quietly emotional. Richard Gere is incidental, though his appearance did cause controversy.
  • 4.0 Stars
    MCT:
    June 14, 2006
    I very poignant film from one of the masters; Akira Kurosawa. An interesting study on "the bomb" in Japan.

Summary


Rhapsody in August Summary