One Wonderful Sunday

Kurosawa’s bitter-sweet story of young love set in the devastation of post-war Tokyo.

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.