I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I give this an 8 because it is a small film, one that limits itself to a very small scope in time and space. Its themes, however, are timeless. Virtue and its application to daily life is at the core of this film, and the samurai genre is only a vehicle. Nevertheless, the samurai fighting is beautifully and clearly depicted, and the character of the ronin protagonist is both unusual and admirable.Samurai films set at the end of the shogunate usually depict the conflict between a warrior ethos and a settled society, and this film is no exception. Our hero, a ronin (samurai without a settled position or master) traveling with his wife, is trapped by weather at a country inn. His interactions with his fellow travelers, all commoners, and the citizens of the rural area where the inn is located, reveal his sterling character. His interactions with the local daimyo (feudal territorial lord) and his retainers show his brilliance as a swordsman and his utter decency as a human being.If you are a fan of samurai films you will enjoy this one. If you are a fan of good film making, you will love this film.

I have seen this two days after the exhilarating "Kill", by Okamoto. So ? They both feature a middle-aged ronin with a good heart and an even better sword, inns full of "the good people", poor but industrious, and rather mean and silly clansmen. And pensive wives or wives to be. But Kill is a stylish, funny, irrelevant film, with a wonderful comical Tatsuya Nakadai, whereas Ame agaru fails in almost everything it attempts. The actor playing the ronin has no body tension (all right, that's part of his technique, but it doesn't work on screen. The old master — incidentally played by dear Nakadai — could have taught him a few of his acting tricks.) and there is no chemistry between any of those actors. Shiro Mifune has his papa's voice, but not much more — in this film at least, and the landscapes are filmed with a striking apathy. Worst of all is the drivel about "the good poor people" — so damn condescending. Hadn't Kurosawa had his take on the subject with the great Lower Depths ? And there was no condescension then. For a great film on the Japanese slums (other than Lower Depths, that is), try Humanity and Paper Balloons. And well, feel-good movies are seldom good.

In this movie set on the rainy season in fudal Japan, A ronin and his wife reach a poor hotel and interact with the guests and the local lord. The character of the ronin is unique. He has fought for money and thus taints himself in the eyes of the local samurai but his heart and care for the people along with his mastery of budo, wins over the lord who is a unique character in his own right. This is not a masterpiece of filming but the characters stay with you and it is a needed diversion from the gruff men we usually meet with the elder Corosowa.

I left the movie feeling great and light... the characters are very charismatic and the main character great. Anyone who likes Samurais and Japan of course will like this movie even more. Many of Kurosawa´s films are boring to most people... this one isn´t ! Not pretentious at all. This movie is a must see. 10 !