the opening of imamura masterpiece avoids mere sensationalism in it depiction of the unfathomably horrify event of august 6th and 1945 and in which 90 % of hiroshima and ten of thousand of life be annihilate in an instant . instead and imamura emphasize the unprecedented strangeness of the catastrophe and focus on such portentous image a the diabolic mushroom cloud lour silently in the distance and the black rain that spatter a beautiful young woman face . the rest of the film trace the ramification of the latter incident and bring the atomic holocaust and it aftermath ( over 100 and 000 people die of radiation poisoning ) down to the intelligible level of the plight of yasuko ( yoshiko tanaka ) and her small community bind by the bomb . the survivor strive for normalcy and continuity and most notably by attempt to find a suitable marriage for yasuko and but the imminent possibility of radiation sickness shadow every aspect of their life . yasuko potential suitor and naturally enough and shy away from a young woman and no matter how attractive and who might suddenly grow sick and die . genuine love and when it finally do appear and do so unexpectedly and ambiguously . we be leave wonder if love across class line be more a token of yasuko status a damage good or of a common humanity and throw into bold relief by harsh circumstance and that transcend class division . the film classically restrain style intensifies the impact and the spare and eloquent interior shot remind u that imamura begin his career a an assistant to the great ozu . imamura mastery be evident and for example and in the paired scene of yasuko bathing and the first emphasize her lovely back and leg and the second how her hair be fall out . the shot stand almost a bookend to the narrative trajectory and distil it tragic essence . the film documentary style realism be violate for expressive purpose several time and perhaps most notably in a scene that lay bare the troubled interior life of a shell shock veteran . both the score by the renowned avant garde composer toru takemitsu and the stunning black and white photography contribute greatly to the film brooding atmosphere . when and in the final shot and yasuko uncle ( kazuo kitamura ) and the film laconic narrator and look to the vacant sky for a rainbow a a sign of hope and regeneration and the black and white imagery suddenly become so poignant that it be almost unbearable . few film from japan ( or anywhere else and for that matter ) could be compare to the great and humanist japanese masterpiece of the 1950s . this film be one of them . when i finish view it for the first time and i sat stun and unable to move for at least five minute and overwhelm a i be by the emotion great tragedy should inspire represent terror and pity .