After the Rain (1999)
"Ame agaru" (original title)

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... See full summary »

Director:

Takashi Koizumi

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa (screenplay), Shûgorô Yamamoto (short story)

Stars:

Akira Terao, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Shirô Mifune

14 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Akira Terao	...	Ihei Misawa
Yoshiko Miyazaki	...	Tayo Misawa
Shirô Mifune	...	Lord Nagai Izuminokami Shigeaki
Fumi Dan	...	Okugata
Hisashi Igawa	...	Kihei Ishiyama
Hidetaka Yoshioka	...	Chamberlain Gonnojo Sakakibara
Mieko Harada	...	Okin
Tatsuo Matsumura	...	Sekkyo-Bushi Jii, the Old Preacher
Takayuki Katô	...	Hayato Naitô
Tatsuya Nakadai	...	Tsuji Gettan
Makiya Yamaguchi
Toshihide Wakamatsu
Daisuke Ryû
Bin Moritsuka
Masayoshi Nagasawa

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

rain | samurai | ronin | river | husband wife relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan France

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

22 January 2000 (Japan)

Also Known As:

When the Rain Lifts

Filming Locations:

Kyoto, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$3,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

7 Films Cinéma, Ame Agaru Seisaku Iinkai, Asmik Ace Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Akira Kurosawa died after writing the screenplay and completing preproduction. His producer son offered the direction to Kurosawa's long-time assistant. But shooting could begin only when Elie Chouraqui's French Company 7 Films Cinéma accepted to co-produce.

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Quotes

Lord Nagai Izuminokami Shigeaki: The forging of the grain delicately moistened very well drawn groves a proud blade has the freshness of a spring breeze and it's perfume.

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Connections

Version of Samurai from Nowhere (1964)

User Reviews

Koizumi Takashi has directed "After the rain" in the same manner as his mentor Akira Kurosawa must have anticipated.

About Japanese director Koizumi Takashi, it can be said that his life has come to a complete standstill on two different occasions. Firstly, there was absolute shock for him in store when his mentor, Akira Kurosawa died after having written the screenplay of "After the Rain". It was therefore a tough challenge for Koizumi to direct the film exactly in the same manner as Kurosawa Sensei had wished. Secondly, the quiet manner in which his film flows makes all viewers wonder about the complete lack of movement in his film. It is as if stillness pervades the entire film even in those scenes where there is drama and violence. As a film, After the rain is a highly philosophical tale about a samurai who finds his true worth when he becomes a key witness to some of life's harshest hardships. Despite tackling a tough subject, it remains a highly accessible film due to its focus on entertainment and humor.As a minor theme, Koizumi Takashi deftly explores the importance of a woman who is absolutely dependent on her husband for her survival. There is no sign of weakness in the feminine gaze as the female protagonist has been shown as a worthy partner of a man in distress. If acting is something which might interest enthusiastic viewers then they must give due respect to brilliant acting performances by Japanese actors Terao Akira and Miyazaki Yoshiko who are impressive in their roles as Monsieur Le Samurai and Madame La Samurai.