Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

mevmijaumau After the Rain (Ame agaru) was written by Akira Kurosawa, based on a short story by Shugoro Yamamoto. Kurosawa died after completing pre- production, so his producer son turned to Takashi Koizumi, who worked as Kurosawa's assistant director for years, to direct this film. It was co- produced by a French company, like some of Kurosawa's own works. The movie is dedicated to him in fact.After the Rain follows Ihei Misawa, arguably one of the most noble and generous samurai heroes ever committed to film. He's joined by his loving wife Tayo as they stay at an inn waiting for rain to stop. As you may know, rainy weather was one of Kurosawa's favorite thematic elements, and it played a different role in each of his films. In this movie, Ihei and Tayo, together with some other travelers, bring a great deal of joy to the poor people stranded at the inn. Rain in this movie may therefore symbolize a life obstacle which can be conquered by good will.Later, Ihei is asked by a lord, who witnessed his skill, to become a fencing instructor for his clan. The lord's men are jealous of Ihei, and tensions between him and them keep escalating. Finally, the lord's upper retainers tell Ihei that he won't be accepted, making him and Tayo travel away. However, as they walk the area, the lord changes his mind and rushes to find Ihei to make amends, realizing that he just lost a man of great skill. However, the ending doesn't state whether or not he finds him, and I couldn't have it any other way. The film ends with Ihei and Tayo admiring the view and being happy for what they are; whether the lord finds Ihei or not is completely irrelevant and out of the picture. Ihei may have lost the position in the clan, but he still has his wife and his virtues. Obviously, this is a humanist film; the type of movies Kurosawa liked to make the most.The performances are excellent, and there are some familiar faces, like Tatsuya Nakadai, Mieko Harade (from Ran and Dreams) and Toshiro Mifune's son, Shiro. It's also the first Japanese film I've seen so far where the flashbacks are in black and white; usually they're indiscernible from the main timeline. The cinematography is beautiful and offers great photography of both nature and indoor environments, which are often color-coded in yellowish and greenish shades of brown.After the Rain is a slow-paced, wonderful humanist movie that in my opinion surpasses some of Kurosawa's main works in its simplicity and mood. It leaves you with a happy feeling afterwards and overall the calming tone of it is enough for me to love it. On a second viewing, this may become one of my favorite samurai movies.

mmushrm The only way I can describe this movie is Sweet.It is such a lovely movie in its simplicity. There are no evil schemes and plots. No subplots within subplots with twist and suspense building. No massive production with a cast of thousands. No nasty characters that you hate. It is just a sweet simple story telling about an unemployed man (ronin) and his wife.This movie made me smile as especially the wives. The wife of the Samurai, Tayo, is incredibly sweet. Same with the wife of the lord. Both play the "character" of the Asian wife...quietly supportive while leading the man to understanding with words of wisdom.Great minimalistic acting. A Samurai Feel Good movie.

Jessica Carvalho I agree with Jose Guilherme, that many of Kurosawa's movies are a little bit tiring, and also that the characters of this movie,Ame agaru are very charismatic.This movie really made me a surprise,since it's very optimistic, and with a good message, about helping other people and to forget the bad side of the past, to turn into a better person in the future.:) Also shows the monster of envy, when other fighters are jealous about misawa's habilities and the fact that he is invited to be the Master of all the fighters and warriors of the landlord.I recommend it to everybody who wants a nice day!:)

dbborroughs I stumbled upon this film by accident and I'm glad I did. The plot is simple, a master-less samurai and his wife are staying at an inn during a rain storm. Everyone is waiting for the rain to end and the river to go down so they can cross. The samurai is a gentle man who tries to help everyone pass the time much to his wife's chagrin. This is a sweet gentle film where nothing much happens and yet we get to know a bunch of very good people and learn a lesson about the value of kindness and honesty. A winner from start to finish.