Special Series

Free

Black Rain

黒い雨

Directed by: Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura and Etsuko Ichihara
1989 / 123 minutes / PG

The tragic fate of a community contaminated by prejudice

Based on the novel by Masuji Ibuse, Imamura’s monochrome masterpiece chronicles the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and its devastating effect on a surviving family. Five years after getting caught in black rain following the blast, Yasuko lives with her uncle and aunt in Fukuyama. But despite her family’s best efforts to help Yasuko get married, she struggles to find a suitor, as the prospects become deterred by her status as a radiation victim. 

Black Rain marks a departure from Imamura’s most-travelled themes, as he chooses to depict the full horror of the war and its lasting consequences. However, instead of simplistic anti-nuclear rhetoric, Imamura delves into the psychological scars etched by the warfare, unveiling the survivors’ internal battles as they grapple with their sense of self-worth marred by radiation’s invisible threat.  Haunting and deeply moving, this must-watch film tells the important stories of those whose lives were tainted by the indelible physical and social stigma left by nuclear fallout.