Comparison between the Rhapsody in August and The End of August at the Hotel Ozone: View on Feminism and generation

I was thinking about the name of the movie today, then suddenly, it came to my mind, there was another movie with a familiar name ‘Rhapsody in August’. Although ‘Rhapsody in August’ was made like 30 years after ‘The End of August at the Hotel Ozone’, the movies seems to have some interesting similarities.

Rhapsody in August DVDs cover

First of all, a short synopsis written by Matthe Rorie about Rhapsody in August:

An elderly woman living in Nagasaki Japan takes care of her four grandchildren for their summer vacation. They learn about the atomic bomb that fell in 1945, and how it killed their Grandfather. (Matthew Rorie <mrorie@vt.edu>)

And this is the synopsis of The End of August at the Hotel Ozone.

The End of August at the Hotel Ozone

 DVDs Cover

Many years after a nuclear holocaust, a small group of young women roam the forests, led by an "Old Woman" (Beta Ponicanová) who wears military garb and tries to keep the less stable members in line…

Rhapsody in August

The End of August at the Hotel Ozone

The point that really stands out in both of these movies is the way that they both show the feminism. Moreover, the main character in these movies is not just women but old women! Why would the director choose these old women? From my own analysis, I believe that old represent the previous generation. Both movies seem to have the plot around the theme of generation. Even though each movie present it in a different way, Rhapsody is about passing on the memories to the next generation while The End of August feature more about what would happen if the old generation died out and there is no one else to teach this next generation, what would the world be like? Moreover, by choosing female to be the lead in both of the movies is another interesting topic. Most people would probably view a female image as weak, wimpy, and not capable of doing great things. However, the female in both movies illustrate a brave and courageous image. The old woman in Rhapsody in August is clearly a leader of these young wild girls and she is certainly in control of everything; she knows and mostly decides what is right and what is wrong. In the scene, where one of the girl throw the bullet in the burning tank and eventually got slap by the old woman; there was no argument, complaints, nothing, this clearly shows that the old woman has the authority over these young girls.

In conclusion, both of these movies, even though made around 30 years apart, both give importance to old generation and female which also show that in along with the equality of woman's right; it could be seen in these entertainment through movies also.