Synopsis
Based on the life of Hyakken Uchida, a Japanese author and academic. The film opens with Uchida resigning his job as a German professor at the onset of WWII. The story is told mostly in vignettes as he is cared for by former students in his old age.
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Cast
- Tatsuo MatsumuraProf. Hyakken Uchida
- Kyōko KagawaProfessor's Wife
- Hisashi IgawaTakayama
- George TokoroAmaki
- Masayuki YuiKiriyama
- Akira TeraoSawamura
- Takeshi KusakaDr. Kobayashi
- Asei KobayashiRev. Kameyama
- Hidetaka YoshiokaTakayama's Son
- Yoshitaka ZushiNeighbor
Recommendations
- 100
Philadelphia Inquirer
A profound and deeply moving exploration of facing death with dignity. - 90
The New York Times
It's not one of Kurosawa's great films.... But it is, within its own proportions, nearly perfect. - 83
Portland Oregonian
Little spectacle but much bittersweet sensitivity. - 80
Chicago Reader
Has the expressionistic simplicity of Kurosawa's other late films. - 80
Village Voice
Unabashedly personal and uncool...but between you and me, dear reader, I love it to death. - 75
San Francisco Examiner
It is an important work, and a very good one. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
This warm, celebratory and very public film is punctuated by sudden and luminous private visualizations. - 75
New York Post
The late Akira Kurosawa's shamelessly sentimental last film is a fond and fitting farewell.
