After the Rain
Akira Kurosawa died after writing the screenplay and completing preproduction. His producer son offered the direction to Kurosawa's long-time assistant. But shooting could begin only when Elie Chouraqui's French Company 7 Films Cinéma accepted to co-produce.,Lord Nagai Izuminokami Shigeaki: The forging of the grain delicately moistened very well drawn groves a proud blade has the freshness of a spring breeze and it's perfume.,Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Fights in a Forest (2014),Kurosawa was very interested in stories about older men facing their destiny. Most of his films from Kagemusha and on deal with this in some way. Ame Agaru is another story that deals with the topic.

Almost like a play at times, Ame Agaru takes it's time and is all the better for it. There are some excellent sword fights and formal duels in the film but they are not the focus of the film. There's a bit of time depicting the main character silently practicing his sword work in the woods that might bore a number of viewers.

Is this a Kurosawa film? Yes, in that I could easily see him directing this story. There are a number of similarities to his last film, Madadayo. No, in that the direction here is sort of mundane. Kurosawa's distinctive eye is missing. There's a TV movie quality that's sort of unusual for a film like this. However, the actors and the story really do carry this film over and while it's not a masterpiece, it's not a waste of time either if you know what you are getting into.,