Rhapsody in August

Rhapsody in August

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

PG 1991 · 98 min · ★ 7.1 · Drama

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.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Written by Akira Kurosawa

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV StoreRakuten TV

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 37m together

Rhapsody in August

Dreams

Both from Akira Kurosawa.

More from Akira KurosawaSee all →

Seven SamuraiSeven Samurai · 1954
Seven Samurai
★ 8.51954
MovieActionDrama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
High and LowHigh and Low · 1963
High and Low
★ 8.41963
MovieDramaCrime
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
IkiruIkiru · 1952
Ikiru
★ 8.31952
MovieDrama
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Red BeardRed Beard · 1965
Red Beard
★ 8.21965
MovieDrama
Aspiring to an easy job as personal physician to a wealthy family, Noboru Yasumoto is disappointed when his first post after medical school takes him to a small country clinic under the gruff doctor Red Beard. Yasumoto rebels in numerous ways, but Red Beard proves a wise and patient teacher. He gradually introduces his student to the unglamorous side of the profession, ultimately assigning him to care for a prostitute rescued from a local brothel.
RashomonRashomon · 1950
Rashomon
★ 8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
RanRan · 1985
Ran
★ 8.01985
MovieActionDrama
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
Throne of BloodThrone of Blood · 1957
Throne of Blood
★ 7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
A Fistful of DollarsA Fistful of Dollars · 1964
A Fistful of Dollars
★ 7.81964
MovieWestern
The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.
KagemushaKagemusha · 1980
Kagemusha
★ 7.81980
MovieActionDrama
A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.
DreamsDreams · 1990
Dreams
★ 7.71990
MovieFantasyDrama
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.
Drunken AngelDrunken Angel · 1948
Drunken Angel
★ 7.61948
MovieDrama
In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.
Stray DogStray Dog · 1949
Stray Dog
★ 7.61949
MovieCrimeDrama
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose desperation has led him to a life of crime. With each step, cop and criminal’s lives become more intertwined and the investigation becomes an examination of Murakami’s own dark side.
The Magnificent SevenThe Magnificent Seven · 1960
The Magnificent Seven
★ 7.51960
MovieWestern
An oppressed Mexican peasant village hires seven gunfighters to help defend their homes.
Kaze no YojimboKaze no Yojimbo · 2001
Kaze no Yojimbo
★ 7.42001
SeriesDramaAnimation
George Kodama is investigating an incident that occurred in the small town of Kimujuku over 15 years ago. George is soon caught up in the middle of a bloody gang fight for control of the town.
Ghost Dog: The Way of the SamuraiGhost Dog: The Way of the Samurai · 1999
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
★ 7.31999
MovieCrimeDrama
A Black hitman who models after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
One Wonderful SundayOne Wonderful Sunday · 1947
One Wonderful Sunday
★ 7.21947
MovieDramaRomance
Two broke sweethearts wander war-scarred Tokyo on a single Sunday, stretching 35 yen as they chase housing, small pleasures, and a little hope.

More Like This

Nickel BoysNickel Boys · 2024
Nickel Boys
★ 6.62024
MovieDramaHistory
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
Nobody KnowsNobody Knows · 2004
Nobody Knows
★ 8.02004
MovieDrama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Central StationCentral Station · 1998
Central Station
★ 8.11998
MovieDrama
An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.
RashomonRashomon · 1950
Rashomon
★ 8.01950
MovieCrimeDrama
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
Memoirs of a MurdererMemoirs of a Murderer · 2017
Memoirs of a Murderer
★ 6.82017
MovieThrillerDrama
The movie begins in the year 1995 where there were 5 peculiar murder cases. The murderer would always get someone close to the victim to witness how he would strangle the victim from behind with a rope but he would let the witnesses go and speak to the media on how the murders happened. Ito plays the role of Makimura, the police detective who was in charge of investigating the serial murders but failed to catch the cunning murderer and his respected superior ended up being killed as well. 22 years later in 2017 when the case is nearing its statute of limitations, a man named Sonezaki claims to be the culprit for the 1995 murders and even publishes a book titled "Watashi ga satsujinhan desu" to talk about the cases. Despite the disgust towards Sonezaki's actions, the intensive attention showered on him via the media and SNS makes him become the talk of town.
DollsDolls · 2002
Dolls
★ 7.52002
MovieDramaRomance
Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.
Battle RoyaleBattle Royale · 2000
Battle Royale
★ 7.32000
MovieDramaThriller
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
The Naked IslandThe Naked Island · 1960
The Naked Island
★ 8.01960
MovieDrama
A family of four are the sole inhabitants of a small island, where they struggle each day to irrigate their crops.
Throne of BloodThrone of Blood · 1957
Throne of Blood
★ 7.91957
MovieDramaHistory
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
IkiruIkiru · 1952
Ikiru
★ 8.31952
MovieDrama
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Visitor QVisitor Q · 2001
Visitor Q
★ 6.32001
MovieComedyDrama
In a dysfunctional family where the mother is a heroin addict and prostitute, beaten by her son, and the father is an ex-TV reporter, sleeping with his daughter and filming his son being beaten up, ‘Q’, a complete stranger enters the bizarre family, changing their lives for the better, finding a balance in their disturbing natures.
The Sum of All FearsThe Sum of All Fears · 2002
The Sum of All Fears
★ 6.42002
MovieThrillerAction
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.
KikujiroKikujiro · 1999
Kikujiro
★ 7.51999
MovieComedyDrama
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter