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So much average

Powerful

Memorable, crazy movie

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ONE WONDERFUL SUNDAY is a romantic mood piece from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa, made just after the Second World War. Ostensibly it's about a poor couple who traipse around Tokyo looking for entertainment, but in reality Kurosawa uses the light storyline to paint a picture of a devastated city and country, ruined by poverty and warfare and left in virtual ruins. It's a film that takes a naturalistic approach to the subject matter and may be rather slow and lacking in event for modern viewers, but the actors are sufficiently invested in their roles and there are certainly some powerful moments, not least that glorious climax.

One wonderful Sunday with only 35 yen to spend - that's what Masako thinks, being the eternal optimist but Yuzo sees only life's grim realities, being penniless and with crushed dreams after his return to civilian life. They had plans of once opening a little coffee shop but now Yuzo would be happy to see them married and in their own little flat. While looking at a project home they get a tip off from another couple about a room for rent up the road but it is dirty, sweltering in summer, freezing in winter and the rent is astronomical (according to the disgruntled previous tenant). Next is one of the nicest scenes in the movie. Yuzi is down and impulsively joins in a kid's baseball game which leaves him feeling exhilarated, but as the day progresses he starts to believe that getting involved in the black market is the only way to get on top of things. He looks up an old army buddy who owns a high class cabaret but all he is given is a hand out and when they impulsively decide to spend their last 20 yen on a concert, scalpers are there ahead of them, buying up all the tickets then selling them at a price just out of their reach. Yuzo reaches breaking point and starts a fight. There are high points in the day involving the Zoo but they also come face to face with a reality of modern (1947) day Japan - destitute war orphans and young girls forced by poverty to become cabaret hostesses.For all that it is a very warm and uplifting film with Masako's sunny, never say die attitude. Through a simple story of a leisurely Sunday Kurosawa shows the intricate framework of what life was really like for the majority of young displaced Japanese after the War. Isao Numasak and Chieko Nakakita are just super. I personally liked Masako's plea to the audience about giving "poor young lovers" a clap and a chance to make good. It would even have been nice if it had ended there. I had seen this movie many, many years ago and always remembered the first scene where they walk around the project home, Masako's spirits becoming more buoyant, Yuzo becoming depressed. I never really associated this film with Kurosawa. Another reviewer has mentioned it as one of the director's lesser films but I don't agree. "One Wonderful Sunday", "I Live in Fear", "Scandal" and "The Bad Sleep Well" are the ones I have the strongest memory of (although of course my favourite will always be "High and Low").

Far from being one of Kurosawa's best films, it is still a powerful and thoughtful one. He had already developed his filmmaking mastery at this point of time, and it can surely be seen by the way some of the scenes are made.The film concerns a story of love surrounded by poverty and despair; the main characters of the film have the whole Sunday to go out and be together, the only problem being their shortness of money, as they only had 35 yens to go through the day. Being short of money as they were, there were not many things they could do, so they had to spend them wisely. This mainly leads to frustration from both sides, and so the film becomes depressing most of the time, even though they are really in love with each other and are happy to have a day available for them. Throughout the film they will encounter many obstacles and disheartening experiences, which will push them towards feeling impotent, but they always manage to bring happiness out of all that awful moments, and there is where the magic of this film resides.It might seem like a simple, clichéd love story we have always been familiar with, and it actually could have just been that, if it was not for the Excellency of Kurosawa's filmmaking skills. He brings magic to many of the main scenes of the film, which definitely increases the experience by showcasing everything in detail. The last scene is really outstanding because of the way it is portrayed; you can actually feel both the pain and happiness they are feeling.In conclusion, this film is definitely overshadowed by other masterpieces from Kurosawa's filmography, and is definitely not the best from him, but this little film is not to be skipped if you really like the director.My score: 7.7/10

A young couple meet to spend their Sunday together, as they do every Sunday. They have 35 yen to spend - a paltry amount. Off they go, but at the back of their minds, nagging them, threatening to ruin their date, is their impoverished circumstances. The man takes this to heart. The woman, whose shoes are falling apart, is blessed with optimism.Don't be fooled by the simplicity of the storyline. This film engaged me on several levels. It's the story of their date which keeps threatening to turn sour, and often does, but which is finally rescued by one unalterable fact: their love for each other. Not some dreamy-eyed American mass-culture Silhouette-novel type of love, but real, practical love that demands rigorous action when the stakes are down. If anything, this film presents a blueprint of how this couple will spend the rest of their lives together. It's heartwarming in a really special way.Through the eyes of this couple, as the day's events unfold, we see a panorama of post-war Japan, and it isn't a pretty sight. There is corruption on every scale imaginable. Desperate circumstances force people to compromise their pride and integrity, even in minuscule ways. The man is tempted on all sides to compromise his, so this film becomes the story of his struggle not to (in one scene he becomes enraged when scalpers buy up the remaining 10 yen concert tickets that he and his date wanted and start re-selling them for 15 yen). Money is the pervasive leitmotif of this film. Money and the not having it, the wanting it, the scrounging for it, the giving it, the soul-tainting influence of it, and yes, the necessity of it.That's not to say that there isn't grace and beauty here. And magic. There's plenty, amid the heartache and despair. "One Wonderful Sunday" reminded me of "The Bicycle Thief", De Sica's powerful portrait of post-war Rome, also mounted on a deceptively simple vehicle - a man's desperate search for his stolen bicycle.And finally, the whole thing is tied together by a most inspired and dramatic metaphor. At the start of the film the man spies a half-smoked cigarette on the busy sidewalk. He focuses all his attention on it. Looking around, embarrassed, he quickly reaches for it, but his girlfriend suddenly appears. He explains, sheepishly, that he hasn't had a smoke in three days. At the end of the film he comes across a half-smoked cigarette on the train platform. He hesitates, then crushes it with his shoe, his pride intact. I once had a friend whose desperate circumstances led him to gather cigarette butts off the sidewalk. I never brought it up, but I know it was an issue for him. I've been watching some Kurosawa films recently, and I had almost forgotten that there could be such beauty and intelligence in cinema.