friends criticize her. A beggar and his son live in a derelict car, a Citroen 2CV. While the father is preoccupied with daydreams of owning a magnificent home, the boy dies tragically of food poisoning. A girl (Katsuko) is raped by her alcoholic uncle and becomes pregnant, and in a fit of irrationality stabs a boy at the liquor shop who has tender feelings for her not having any other way to vent her emotional turmoil. When her uncle is confronted as a suspect for this abusive act, he decides to gather his meager belongings and flee from the town barely one step ahead of the investigation. Tanba the chasework silversmith is a sage figure, who disarms a youth swinging a katana sword, and allows a burglar to rob him of his money. After exploring the set-backs and anguish which surrounds many of the families in this indigent community, along with the dreams of escape which many of them support to maintain at least a superficial level of calm, the film comes full circle returning to Rokuchan. As the film ends Rokuchan is again seen preparing to board his imaginary train tram and serve his community of passengers as best he can. Cast Yoshitaka Zushi as Rokuchan Kin Sugai as Okuni, Rokuchan's mother Toshiyuki Tonomura as Taro Shinsuke Minami as Ryotaro Sawagami Yuko Kusunoki as Misao, Sawagami's wife Junzaburō Ban as Yukichi Shima Kiyoko Tange as Shima's wife Michio Hino as Ikawa, Shima's guest Keiji Furuyama as Matsui, Shima's guest Tappei Shimokawa as Nomoto, Shima's guest Kunie Tanaka as Hatsutaro Kawaguchi Jitsuko Yoshimura as Yoshie, Kawaguchi's wife Hisashi Igawa as Masuo Masuda Hideko Okiyama as Tatsu, Masuda's wife Hiroshi Akutagawa as Hei Tomoko Naraoka as Ocho Atsushi Watanabe as Tanba Kamatari Fujiwara as Suicidal Old Man Production Five years had elapsed since the release of Akira Kurosawa's last film, Red Beard (1965). The Japanese film industry was collapsing as the major studios were slashing their production schedules or shutting down entirely due to television stealing the movie audience. When Kurosawa was let go from the American film Tora! Tora! Tora! by Twentieth Century Fox in 1969, it was rumored that the Japanese director's mental health was deteriorating. Teruyo Nogami, Kurosawa's frequent script supervisor, believes the director needed to make a good film to put that rumor to rest. Dodes'ka-den was made possible by Kurosawa forming the Club of the Four