After the Rain
(1999)
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After the Rain
(1999)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Akira Terao | ... |
Ihei Misawa
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Yoshiko Miyazaki | ... |
Tayo Misawa
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Shirô Mifune | ... |
Lord Nagai Izuminokami Shigeaki
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Fumi Dan | ... |
Okugata
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Hisashi Igawa | ... |
Kihei Ishiyama
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Hidetaka Yoshioka | ... |
Chamberlain Gonnojo Sakakibara
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Mieko Harada | ... |
Okin
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Tatsuo Matsumura | ... |
Sekkyo-Bushi Jii, the Old Preacher
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Takayuki Katô | ... |
Hayato Naitô
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| Tatsuya Nakadai | ... |
Tsuji Gettan
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Makiya Yamaguchi |
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Toshihide Wakamatsu |
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Daisuke Ryû |
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Bin Moritsuka |
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Masayoshi Nagasawa |
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Ihei Misawa and his wife Tayo, stranded by rains at a country inn, bring a great deal of happiness to the other residents of the inn by means of Ihei's generosity and good spirit. Ihei is a masterless samurai and fencing expert. Ihei comes to the attention of Lord Shigeaki, who hires him as fencing instructor for Lord Shigeaki's men. But Ihei's expertise causes friction and jealousy in Shigeaki's castle and his future there comes into doubt. Written by Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
Kurosawa was very interested in stories about older men facing their destiny. Most of his films from Kagemusha and on deal with this in some way. Ame Agaru is another story that deals with the topic.
Almost like a play at times, Ame Agaru takes it's time and is all the better for it. There are some excellent sword fights and formal duels in the film but they are not the focus of the film. There's a bit of time depicting the main character silently practicing his sword work in the woods that might bore a number of viewers.
Is this a Kurosawa film? Yes, in that I could easily see him directing this story. There are a number of similarities to his last film, Madadayo. No, in that the direction here is sort of mundane. Kurosawa's distinctive eye is missing. There's a TV movie quality that's sort of unusual for a film like this. However, the actors and the story really do carry this film over and while it's not a masterpiece, it's not a waste of time either if you know what you are getting into.