With his penchant for incorporating "Western" ideas into his films, Kurosawa hits yet another home run with his take on the crime film. As ever, he manages to make scenes that would (in the hands of a lesser director) seem boring become absolutely riveting. Mifune's ride on the trolley, when he loses his gun, for instance; or the scene where he has to explain the situation to his superiors (and the subsequent search through police files for a suspect); or the long undercover sequence. We can almost feel his frustration. The tension mounts. And yet again we have the brilliant Shimura playing off of Mifune, speaking in carefully modulated tones as he dispenses advice to the hotheaded young detective. If ever there was a more perfect combination of performers in cinema history, I never saw them.
Plot summary
Murukami, a young homicide detective, has his pocket picked on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and ashamed, he dashes about trying to recover the weapon without success until taken under the wing of an older and wiser detective, Sato. Together they track the culprit.
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Kurosawa noir...
Akira Kurosawa on the verge of greatness.
The following year, 1950, would see Kurosawa achieve his first major international success with the masterpiece Rashomon. Here, Kurosawa doesn't quite have the sureness of touch which would characterize most of his career, but Stray Dog is nevertheless a fine film noir and an effective exploration of Kurosawa's ideas about postwar Japan in particular and the human condition in general.
As you might expect from such a genius, Kurosawa is not satisfied with a simple good-guys/bad-guys cops-and-robbers story. He explores in depth the social and economic conditions in postwar Japan which led many young people--particularly returning veterans--to take to crime, and also the particular circumstances which motivate the acts of Yusa (Isao Kimura),the criminal. Indeed, a series of mistakes by the hero, rookie detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune),are one factor behind Yusa's crimes.
But neither is Stray Dog a facile blame-society message film, either. Kurosawa makes no excuses for Yusa. By giving Murakami a very similar history (so similar, in fact, that it comes off as a little contrived),Kurosawa makes the point that Yusa had the same choice as Murakami. That he chose differently is his responsibility.
But even more interesting to me is the character of chief detective Sato (Takashi Shimura),Murakami's superior officer, mentor, and friend.
Sato is the wise elder figure in this film, and in the hands of a lesser artist than Kurosawa, such a character generally ends up as a mouthpiece for the director's own viewpoint. Here, though, Kurosawa permits Sato to espouse a hardcore law-and-order philosophy: The cops are the good guys, the crooks are the bad guys, and that's it. Sato has no patience for Murakami's guilt feelings or touchy-feely philosophizing.
That Kurosawa would permit this view (which is not Kurosawa's view, nor the film's) to be given voice by the film's wisest, kindest, most competent, and most likable character is a mark of his confidence and courage.
good but far from great Kurasawa film
I enjoyed this movie and am a big fan of the work of Akira Kurasawa. However, this is only a slightly better than average flick and its quality is less than his later flicks--in particular when it comes to the script. This is because there are so many holes in the plot and behaviors by the police that just don't make logical sense. In particular, towards the end of the film, the young cop (Toshiro Mifune) doesn't get any backup to apprehend a very dangerous criminal AND he forgot to bring along his gun! This is mind-numbingly stupid. But this isn't all--then, when he confronts the maniac (whose gun still has 3 bullets) he captures the man and is only slightly injured--even though they are standing only feet apart when Mifune confronts him! Think about it--this guy ALREADY killed one person, shot two others (including a detective) and now standing only about 10 feet from Mifune hits him only once and in a non-vital location!!!??? The movie up until then was pretty good, but the ending just spoils what could have been a much better movie. My advice is do not give up on Kurosawa--he made many great films--just not this one!