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One Wonderful Sunday

Play trailer Poster for One Wonderful Sunday 1947 1h 48m Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 75% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, a laborer, Yuzo (Isao Numasaki), and his fiancée, Masako (Chieko Nakakita), have only 35 yen at their disposal -- hardly anything at all for a day in Tokyo. Determined to enjoy themselves on their day off despite their financial limitations, the two set out looking for adventure. From visiting model homes to playing baseball in the park, the couple continues to keep the activities rolling, thanks to Masako's can-do attitude pushing Yuzo to keep up with her.

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Vincent Canby New York Times It's a carefully composed, elegant, sometimes prescient work, a small-scale love story set against a background of tumultuous social and political change. Rated: 4/5 Dec 6, 2004 Full Review Rita Kempley Washington Post It's like looking for footprints, tracking the master this apprentice was to become. Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Dave Kehr Chicago Reader It's a 'little people' comedy in the Frank Capra vein Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Grant Watson Fiction Machine It is still at its heart a drama but is filled with brightness and humour. Rated: 8/10 Mar 22, 2022 Full Review Fernando F. Croce CinePassion A curious mixture of the striking and the woeful Mar 14, 2010 Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews microcosm of the Japanese post-war experience Rated: B Jan 28, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (49) audience reviews
Paulami A Akira Kurosawa's find Isao Numasaki amazed me; tragic that Isao san died 5/6 years later, young at 37. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/23/23 Full Review william d I liked the first thirty or so minutes. It took me back to the time when I was young and broke and looking for something to do. Unfortunately, the rest of the time the film veers off into areas that just aren't that interesting. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I love this little world Kurosawa paints, two Sunday lovers ensconced in each other's comforting company, and no money to enjoy anything going on. I'm familiar with this, I often pictured my former and I exactly like this. It was sad, we couldn't get anywhere in life, and anything we enjoyed was on borrowed money. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member The story may not be as impressive as the efforts put into directing this film, but I was lovely nonetheless. I enjoyed everything about this romantic drama visually and emotionally. The feelings I had during scenes were strong and the characters were interesting and pitiful. The story, to me, is still sweet and ends with an uplifting sense of hope and perseverance. I really enjoyed watching this film and witnessing Kurasawa's maturing abilities. He uses weather and music to evoke strong emotions, mirroring that of the characters'. I also enjoyed his close ups on the couple's feet. There is a bit of emphasis on the broken shoes of the female lead toward the beginning. Seeing their shoes close up in the rain puddles reminds you how uncomfortable the characters must be, yet they continue on, determined to find happiness together. It felt romantic to see their feet treading the cold wet streets together. All in all, this was a great Kurosawa film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Its the ones who don't know who are the unfortunate one's. On my cinematic journey through Akira Kurosawa's films this is his best film so far, its massage for the people most effected by World War 2 has long since passed, but it can still be applied to us in this day and age, as well as pushing the limit on sexualism and relationship in films post-war. A sweet dream like film (all these thing I am stating now are fairly well tolled in the film so I will be stating the obvious) following a young couple who are broke as a joke on a average Sunday that turns out to be there greatest moment in there live's as the world throws everything at there fragile relationship, a depressed war veteran is being challenged with looking after his girlfriend, but some how there youthful properties in there personalities are sheltered through and give them a saving grace with a helping hand by a round applause they make it through. On there adventure to the Zoo they look at each animal and give a description how they feel and what they seem like, in this scene they are stating the different types of people around them including themselves using the animals, in the scene they describe a weird looking bird and reference it with a similarly weird-slightly nuts guy they met earlier, Bear cubs, innocent and cute- this is the young girl because of her key-ring of a tiny bear she holds in her handbag through out the film and of course the guy a less kinder and more concrete person formed by war is an almost complete opposite from his lady-friend who is more like a child-youthful- he is compared to a a depressed looking Dear. I have to say this film chipped out a tiny piece of titanium in my man-armor my making tear-up not because it was emotionally sad (although it is quite sad), what made me teary eyed was the gleeful happiness of the two and there funny encounters with all the other zoo-like people. Funny and faith restoring film, Kurosawa has earned some director points. Just the kindest film without being to corny or sappy, so evenly weighed out with it's camera work making it flow by quickly as-well as suspending it in the mind with it gorgeous dreamy scenes that look like fine paintings, each scene perfectly captured by the black and white film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Lovable Kurosawa film is a profound glimpse into postwar Japan. A nearly penniless couple meet up every Sunday for their weekly date. Both would be homeless if not for friends and family. He's a war veteran, having fought in the great war against the Americans, who gets no respect for that. Even his own former comrades in arms avoid him. It's clear he's got PTSD and is severely depressed. So why is this film lovable. It's because his woman has a sunny disposition despite being so poor her shoes are completely worn out. This is a "day in the life" snapshot. Part of their date consists of going to the zoo, but events come to a sort of terrible climax when they attempt to go to a concert also. In between they meet up with a homeless kid who looks about 10, but behaves like he's 50. He has to just to survive. They refuse to accept money from him even though it is money they will badly need later that day. How you react to the title of this film determines who you are as a person. If you believe it is sarcasm you are definitely a cynical person. If you believe Kurosawa is serious then you are an optimist. The ending is legendary because basically we (the audience) is asked to interact with the main characters. To Kurosawa's great glee and delight the audience in Paris interacted with the film. Japanese audiences however, basically never did. It hit too close to the gut I suppose. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Read all reviews
One Wonderful Sunday

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis On a beautiful Sunday afternoon, a laborer, Yuzo (Isao Numasaki), and his fiancée, Masako (Chieko Nakakita), have only 35 yen at their disposal -- hardly anything at all for a day in Tokyo. Determined to enjoy themselves on their day off despite their financial limitations, the two set out looking for adventure. From visiting model homes to playing baseball in the park, the couple continues to keep the activities rolling, thanks to Masako's can-do attitude pushing Yuzo to keep up with her.
Director
Akira Kurosawa
Producer
Sojiro Motoki
Genre
Romance
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (DVD)
Jan 15, 2008
Runtime
1h 48m