Review – One Wonderful Sunday

Though this early Kurosawa picture is as laconic as the title day, its subtle, honest optimism is probably exactly what moviegoers in postwar Japan needed. A young couple with very little spending money try to have the best day off they can. The day presents them with a series of ups and downs, the upshot of which is that happiness is possible without money. Indeed, money seems to get in the way of happiness. To be sure, it gets a bit too sentimental in the end, particularly the breaking-the-fourth-wall “Peter Pan” moment. Overall, however, it’s a charming, uplifting little picture. Worth seeing