This long-neglected early work is a masterful mix of film noir and police thriller set in the sweltering mean streets of post-war Tokyo. When young detective Murakami (Mifune) has his pistol stolen, he is overwhelmed by a feeling of dishonour rather than failure, and sets out on a descent into the lower depths of the underworld, which gradually reveals Dostoievskian parallels between himself and his quarry.
Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) is the simple tale of a detective's quest to retrieve his stolen pistol. Based on a true anecdote the possibilities of the story appe... more >
Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) is the simple tale of a detective's quest to retrieve his stolen pistol. Based on a true anecdote the possibilities of the story appealed to Kurosawa, and from such a humble plot he forms a claustrophobic odyssey. Following a string of clues, the detective, played by Toshiro Mifune, is forced to wander the seedier side of post-war Tokyo during an unbearable heat wave. A storm is brewing in both the weather and the narrative.
Aided by superior officer Takeshi Shimura, Mifune's detective finds himself searching not only for his stolen Colt, but also for the essence of human nature, as he comes to recognise the similarities between himself and his quarry. < less
