Rhapsody in August

"Tears. Laughter. Innocence. It was a summer of remembering."

1991 1h 38m JA

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 164

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Tears. Laughter. Innocence. It was a summer of remembering.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

Sachiko Murase
Kane (The Grandmother)
Hidetaka Yoshioka
Tateo
Tomoko Otakara
Tami
Mieko Suzuki
Minako
Mitsunori Isaki
Shinjiro
Hisashi Igawa
Tadao
Toshie Negishi
Kane's daughter
Chōichirō Kawarasaki
Noboru

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirō Honda
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

35 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Shoji Ueda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Shinichiro Ikebe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akira Kurosawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sachiko Murase and Hidetaka Yoshioka and Tomoko Otakara carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Tears. Laughter. Innocence. It was a summer of remembering.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0101991 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Akira Kurosawa directs. Shoji Ueda behind the camera. Shinichiro Ikebe scores. Akira Kurosawa cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

135 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Akira Kurosawa, shot by Shoji Ueda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Shinichiro Ikebe. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Akira Kurosawa shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Sachiko Murase and Hidetaka Yoshioka and Tomoko Otakara carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Tears. Laughter. Innocence. It was a summer of remembering.".
7IMDB entry: tt0101991 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "atomic bomb", "hydrogen bomb", "long lost relative", "grandmother".