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Plot

The title refers to the radioactive fallout which descended upon ruined city of Hiroshima after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Young bride-to-be Yoshiko Tanaka has the misfortune to be visiting Hiroshima on the day of the explosion. Incredibly, she is unhurt; she returns to her own village, across the bay from Hiroshima. Unfortunately, her townsmen have been profoundly affected by the "black rain"; over the next five years, the poison in their systems slowly but surely erodes their souls. In a tragic state of denial, Yoshiko's former friends insist that they can't be sick-it must be the girl who is bringing sickness to them. Now a pariah, Yoshiko's life is shattered as surely as if the bomb had disintegrated her upon impact. Director Shohei Imamaura, a onetime assistant to the great Ozu and the director of such Japanese classics as The Insect Woman and The Ballad of Narayama, never sensationalizes his material; the story is effective told in a muted, subdued fashion, allowing the horror to arise from the inner torment of the characters rather than being artificially imposed by camera trickery or "shock" cutting. Based on a novel by Masuji Ibuse, the black-and-white Black Rain won the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Award, along with several other honors.
MPAA Rating:
R
Genre(s):
Drama,Action
Run Time:
123min.
Theatrical Release Date:
09/20/1989
DVD Release Date:
03/18/1998
Distributor(s):
Toei Co.
Director(s):
Shohei Imamura
Starring:
Yoshiko Tanaka , Kazuo Kitamura , Etsuko Ichihara , Shoichi Ozawa , Norihei Miki
Themes:
Innocence Lost
Tone:
Austere,Elegiac,Melancholy,Poignant,Somber,Understated
Keywords:
atrocity,disillusionment,faith-healing,family,family-tragedy,fidelity,homecoming,love,nuclear,nuclear-accident,post-nuclear-holocaust,radiation-poisoning,search,survivor,terminal-illness,war
Language:
Japanese