Sayonara

Sayonara is a drama set in postwar Japan, where US Air Force Major Lloyd Gruver is stationed at a Japanese base. A disciplined officer, Gruver initially disapproves when his friend and fellow serviceman Joe Kelly decides to marry a Japanese woman, Katsumi, despite military rules discouraging such relationships. Gruver's own views are tested when he meets Hana-ogi, a Japanese dancer, and begins a relationship that crosses the same cultural and racial lines he once opposed.

The film was directed by Joshua Logan, released in late 1957 between Bus Stop and South Pacific in a run of musicals and dramas that also included Picnic, Fanny and Camelot. Paul Osborn wrote the screenplay, and William Goetz produced for Warner Bros. Pictures with Pennebaker Productions. Marlon Brando leads as Gruver, with Miiko Taka as Hana-ogi, Miyoshi Umeki as Katsumi, and supporting turns from Patricia Owens, James Garner and Martha Scott among a credited cast of 25.

Sayonara runs 147 minutes. On IMDb it holds a film critics' rating of 7.6 from 57 reviews, while on TMDB its audience rating is 6.7 from 150 votes, a modest difference suggesting critics responded somewhat more favourably than general viewers.