Rhapsody in August
Short description
Rhapsody in August centers on Kane, an elderly woman living in the countryside near Nagasaki who looks after her four grandchildren over a summer holiday. The children know little about the atomic bombing of 1945, and their questions gradually draw out her memories of the day she lost her husband. The visit of a relative from Hawaii, whose family emigrated to the United States long ago, brings the wartime past into the present and forces the grandchildren to weigh their grandmother's grief against a country they have never known. Akira Kurosawa directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Ishirō Honda, and Hisao Kurosawa produced. It is the twenty-second of the twenty-three films Kurosawa directed in chronological order, following Dreams and preceding Madadayo. Sachiko Murase plays Kane, with Hidetaka Yoshioka, Tomoko Otakara, Mieko Suzuki, Mitsunori Isaki, and Hisashi Igawa among the cast.
Rhapsody in August was released in 1991 and runs 98 minutes. Its ratings suggest a moderately well-received film rather than a widely beloved one: on IMDb it holds 7.2/10 from around 8,200 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.1/10 from about 160 votes. A critics' rating of 6.9/10 from 15 reviews indicates that professional response was somewhat more reserved than the audience scores, though all three measures land in similar territory.
What's left behind the scenes
- Richard Gere speaks Japanese in the film despite not knowing the language (he learned his lines by ear).
- Having starred with Julia Roberts in Garry Marshall's (1934-2016) melodrama 'Pretty Woman' (1990), Richard Gere was at the height of his career and popularity, with his earnings for the film reaching millions of dollars. The filmmakers realized they couldn't afford such fees, to which Gere replied: 'I will work for free with (Akira) Kurosawa (1910-1998).' Not wanting to take advantage of the actor's generosity, they nevertheless promised to pay him a modest sum, as well as cover travel expenses for himself and any friends he wished to bring along to the shoot. Supermodel Cindy Crawford was among those friends.
- Isiro Honda (1911-1993) filmed the ants on the rose because Kurosawa didn't have the patience for it.
- Isiro Honda filmed the ants on the rose because Akira Kurosawa didn't have the patience for it.
- After the release of "Pretty Woman," Richard Gere was at the peak of his popularity, and his fees reached millions of dollars. The filmmakers realized that paying such sums was beyond their means, to which Gere stated that he would work for free for (Akira) Kurosawa. The actor was still promised some payment and coverage of travel expenses to Japan for him and any friends he wanted to bring to the set. Cindy Crawford was among these friends.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
