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This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Hearing about Rhapsody in August before seeing the film, I was seriously expecting a bad film with a lot of people saying it was Kurasawa's worst. Well, I wouldn't call it one of his finest, but I am not yet in a position to say it's his worst as I haven't seen every single one of his films(I will be watching Madadeyo in due course and see if it was as underwhelming as I remember). Rhapsody in August I do find a flawed film, the script is not entirely sure which way it wants to go and sometimes has a melodramatic tone, the ending is rather confusing and abrupt, the children's acting is rather stilted at times and Richard Gere while trying hard to bring a sense of understatement felt out of place to me. However, it is delicately directed by Kurasawa, and contains some typically gorgeous cinematography and images, especially the rose blooming and the ants. The score is pleasant and never over-bearing, and the story is humanistic and genuinely moving. Of the characters, the most intriguing and well developed was the grandmother Kane. Her scenes are the most haunting and poignant of the film, and she is powerfully acted by Sachiko Murase. All in all, while not Kurasawa's finest hour, I didn't find it a bad film and better than I was led to believe. Even at his worst, Kurasawa is better than a lot of directors now at their best, to me anyway. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Akira Kurosawa, in the twilight of his career, turned his attention to a quiet study of lingering wartime trauma, showing different generations of Japanese civilians recalling the atom bombing of Nagasaki, with varying degrees of shame, understanding, and curiosity. By coincidence the film opened just after the 50-year anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but Kurosawa isn't interested in scratching old war wounds, and his characters show more envy than hatred of Western culture: note how the jeans and t-shirts worn by the younger kids are always colored in some combination of red, white and blue. But the story is too polite to generate anything resembling a conflict, and the occasional profound image (a rose in full bloom, surrounded by ants) may not be enough to hold the viewer's attention through the final credits. Late in life, Kurosawa the artist gave way to Kurosawa the messenger, and the result here is another mild disappointment from an acknowledged master filmmaker resting on his laurels: heartfelt and certainly respectable, but too often rarely more than simply dull.

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.

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.