Unfinished Symphony in One Wonderful Sunday

One Wonderful Sunday is a 1947 Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film depicts Yuzo and Masako’s Sunday date in post-war Tokyo. The last scene of this film is mind blowing in virtue of its use of music and its structure that brings the audience together with the movie characters. First, we see a couple running down the stairs of the open-air theater on a rainy evening with a sense of isolation created by the rainy and dark atmosphere. In fact, when the characters stood on the last step and looked at the stage in amazement, it felt like they were actually looking for that isolation. Yuzo prepares a seat for Masako and tells her “You can create words in your mind, right? I give you Unfinished Symphony”. I think this part is very captivating, it invites (or prepares) the audience to this young lovers’ dream-like world. In my opinion, this scene allows the audience to recall the voice in their minds and its limitless power. Then Yuzo introduces the “invisible orchestra” and in this scene Kurosawa uses a pan shot that shows the stage in accordance with Yuzo’s hand gestures. Again, this scene draws the audience from reality to fantasy and the audiences realize that they can create an image of an orchestra in their minds as well as their sound. Although Masako seems unable to keep up with this dream at first, she starts to “hear them”. Meanwhile, Yuzo gets on the stage, takes his position and as he starts leading the imaginary orchestra, a strong wind wakes him from his dream. It was very heartbreaking to watch this scene (going on stage and environmental stimuli turning him into reality) which happened several times.

The thing that caught my attention in these repetitions was that Yuzo turned to look at something above when he gave up. I felt like he was looking for the guilty (wind or maybe god) who woke him up. When Masako sees that her applause is not motivating her fiance, she gets on the stage and makes her magical, two-minute monologue aimed at the audience (the imaginary audience in the amphitheater and the actual audience in the movie theater). In this emotionally intense scene, this poor couple asks for an applause for themselves and the other couples like them. This monologue creates an incredible interaction between the characters and the audience and the scene lifts the audience from their seat and puts them into the film’s reality. Towards the end of Masako’s speech, I found myself clapping in front of my computer. I am sure that the audience watching this movie in the movie theater gave the same reaction as I did. These two characters get stunned by this imaginary applause, stand up and greet the audience.

Yuzo takes his position on the stage with more faith and a pure silence surrounds the stage. I think the use of this brief silence is very fascinating, it adds excitement and allows the audience to be all ears. Yuzo succeeds this time and we hear Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished Symphony) with his hand gestures. The beginning of the composition reminds me of the spring walks in the countryside, and I think the characters are also experiencing such warm feelings. However, as the music progresses, an atmosphere of anxiety and fear surrounds. I felt as if I saw dark clouds, a sign of storm, during my lovely walk. At the same time, this part of the composition creates a feeling as if the desired thing will not be achieved because of ruthless obstacles. Anxiety and sadness are written over the characters’ faces also. I think the music we heard until this scene is an example of extra-diegetic music, because we hear what is in the characters’ minds. However, the fact that the director gradually attracts the audience to this dream world actually adds a diegetic atmosphere to the music and the audience feels like this dream is real. On the other hand, when Masako gets on the stage and hugs her fiance (so Yuzo stops conducting the orchestra), the music that continues is now non-diegetic and becomes what the audience only hears. Unfinished Symphony has a multi-layered structure and takes the listener on a journey, a trip to the countryside on a spring day. Although we encounter horrible dark clouds during this trip, I realize that it will not hurt to get a little wet in the rain (with the effect of the last scene of the film). Rain or shine, as Yuzo said “this will be the most beautiful day”.