The story centers on an elderly hibakusha, who lost her husband in the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki, caring for her four grandchildren over the summer. She learns of a long-lost brother, Suzujiro, living in Hawaii who wants her to visit him before he dies.
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.