An elderly Nagasaki hibakusha spends a summer caring for her four grandchildren, whose curiosity about the 1945 bombing stirs buried memories and moral questions. When an American nephew from Hawaii visits, the family confronts grief, guilt, and the possibility of reconciliation across generations.
These days, people are more interested in Kurosawa than he is in being Kurosawa.
– Michael Sragow,
New Yorker,
4 Mar 2013
rotten:
There's more narrative movement here than in Dreams, but the pedagogic humanism still gets bogged down in facile simplification.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
A beautiful reminder from octogenarian Akira Kurosawa that he's still the master.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
15 May 2004
fresh:
Mr. Gere gives a good, self-effacing performance in a role that's a little unreal. He speaks his own Japanese dialogue easily and is at the center of one of Mr. Kurosawa's most breathtaking moments.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
16 Jul 2003
rotten:
Plain and simple, Rhapsody is mediocre pap. It's nothing compared with his previous work.