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One Wonderful Sunday
Kurosawa’s bitter-sweet story of young love set in the devastation of post-war Tokyo.
Drama 1947 109 mins
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Overview
Akira Kurosawa strikes an unfamiliar tone for this bitter-sweet story of young love set in the devastation of post-war Tokyo, reminiscent of Frank Capra’s social realist comedies.
Much as Richard Linklater would adopt nearly fifty years later with Before Sunrise, this is a date story told entirely over on evening. Yuzo and his fiancée, Masako, spend a Sunday jaunting around Tokyo with only 35 cents to their names, but still manage to have a great time despite their adversities. The message for struggling Japanese post-war audiences is plain to see, which is why the film resembles Depression-era Hollywood in its outlook of tainted optimism. Look out for an innovative instance of breaking the fourth wall in the final act.
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