Black Rain Dir: Imamura Shohei Scrs: Ishido Toshiro, Imamura Shohei Original Story: Ibuse Masuji Prod: Iino Hisa   Prod Co: Imamura Production Cast: Tanaka Yoshiko, Kitamura Kazuo, Ichihara Etsuko 1989 / B&W / 35mm / Japanese / Eng Subtitles / 123min

This is an exceptional film, both in aesthetic terms and in the context of Imamura's cinema. Slow and solemn, Black Rain is a far cry from the raw and energetic abrasiveness of the usual Imamura. The film is a sublime and impassioned indictment against nuclear warfare, shot in laborious long takes and austere black-and-white, as if Imamura was coming to terms with the gentle melodrama that had characterized Japanese cinema to many viewers. Some critics even consider it Imamura's tribute to Ozu!