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Title: Another Kurosawa Masterpiece
Review: Although not as well-known as several of his samurai films, I would rate Kurosawa's Dodes'ka-Den in his top four or five films. The movie is more of a slice of life than a traditional story with plot and character development and growth. Mostly, we follow the lives of some of Japan's poorest citizens, who live next to a large construction and debris waste site.The movie starts out with a wonderful pantomime performance worthy of Charlie Chaplin himself, as a mentally challenged young man pretends he's a trolley car driver. The movie becomes increasingly surreal and abstract as the colors morph into wild oranges and reds splashed across the screen, and the characters become more and more nonsensical.I can't say the movie was very uplifting, but it sure is one great piece of art. Dodes'ka-Den is still way ahead of its time, which is probably why it wasn't well-received when it first came out. Strongly recommended.
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