# Hachigatsu no kyoshikyoku (1991)

### reviewed by
Pedro Sena

    FILM TITLE:               RHAPSODY IN AUGUST
    DIRECTOR:               AKIRA KUROSAWA
    COUNTRY:                JAPAN 1991
    CINEMATOGRAPHY:          TAKAO SAITO, MASANARU VEDA
    MUSIC:                      Classical Music ( Schubert and Vivaldi ) and
    Shinichiro Ikebe
    CAST:                        Sachiko Murase, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Tomoko
    Ontakara, Mie Suzuki, Misunori Isaki, Hisashi Igawa, Toshie
    Negishi, Choichiro Kawahasaki, Richard Gere
    WRITTEN BY:           Akira Kurosawa
    SUPER FEATURES:       Wonderful story. Well done.

             !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a story that relates to a sensitive subject in Japan, and America. And how some people have dealt with it all. The subject is Hiroshima and the bomb.

While the bomb went on to get Japan to surrender, it did make a mark in its people, a mark that still lingers today, if the story is any indication. But its effects, other than the terrain, have almost disappeared, with the exception of the elder generation, who may not only have seen the blast, but also experienced it first hand.

And the story is related to that event. The parents have gone to Hawaii to visit the elder mother's ailing brother. And the grand mother is basically the babysitter. And the children, want to go to Hawaii, where they seem to see a better life and fun. And one of the ailing man's children is an American, who will inherit the family's fortunes and large plantations. This does not sit well with the elders, but it seems an opportunity for the rest of the family for better jobs and pay.

But the main thrust of the story is not the family situation, but the grand mother's state, in the aftermath of the explosion, which she saw amidst the mountains. It has affected her since, and did kill many of her family and friends. She spends most of her time isolated, and in quiet prayer and meditation, and the only things she can talk about are the events, then, and how they felt about them.

And this film becomes a chronicle of a generation that suffered much pain, and has had to withstand inner anger for an enemy for 50 years. These feelings, are still there, but smoothed out by the economic situations between the country and the world.

The film is strictly about the details of the event, and how the grand mother works with them. And a powerful example it is of what war can do to a populace. The mother is not angry at the Americans, although she has some misgivings about her brother's American son. But she doesn't take it too personal, since she is getting on, and she is much too tied up in the event itself.

An excellent film, with some beautiful acting, Akira Kurosawa still uses his own theatrical symbols, rather than revert to special effects. The old lady sees the explosion, and also thinks that an eye has been watching them ever since.

Worth seeing. Although very literary in content, the film, still, is a wonderful look at a generation that lost much of its strength, because of the bomb.

    4/5 GIBLOONS
    Copyright (c) Pedro Sena 1995. All Rights Reserved.

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