Which Kurosawa film follows a poor young couple during one Sunday in postwar Tokyo?

The Kurosawa film that follows a poor young couple during one Sunday in postwar Tokyo is One Wonderful Sunday.

Released in 1947, the film follows Masako and Yuzo, an engaged couple who have only 35 yen between them. Their weekly date takes them through housing troubles, entertainment they cannot afford, social inequality, and the uncertainty of life in a city still marked by World War II's destruction.

Directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa with Keinosuke Uekusa, the film belongs to the shomin-geki tradition of stories about ordinary people. It was shot on location in Tokyo with relatively unknown actors, reflecting the immediacy of early postwar Japanese cinema and the influence of Italian neorealism.

A frequently remembered feature is its unusual ending, in which Masako appeals directly to the audience to applaud during a performance of Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. The film is therefore more than a simple romance: it combines social realism with imagination and optimism.