One Wonderful Sunday (Subarashiki Nichiyōbi)
An early, nearly unknown (in the US) film by Akira Kurosawa. One of the first post-war films of his career, and one of the first that wasn't nationalist pap churned out at the behest of the Japanese film studios. It tells the story of two young lovers spending their weekly Sunday together (the one day a week they get to see each other), with barely 35 yen between them. It's an incredibly simple tale and an incredibly simple movie with some incredibly complex characters and performances.
It's one of the best films I've seen in a number of years; and one of the only films in recent memory that has engaged me enough to make it through in one complete, uninterrupted sitting.
It's not really representative of what Kurosawa would go on to do, and go on to become, with his samurai epics and odd retellings of Shakespeare; but it's definitely a wonderful introduction to the man if you don't know him, and almost necessary viewing by fans and admirers.
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