The story is a bit of a groaner, but interestingly photographed, and the young Mifune a pleasure to watch. To Western sensibilities, the characters are maddeningly uncommunicative, that is until pushed to the extreme of emotion or crisis. In this sense, words and 'straight talk' represent the breakdown of the normal process of communication, which for the Japanese is largely non-verbal. This is most evident in the lawyer Hiruta and his family (wife, daughter), less so in the more westernized Mifune character, Aoye.<br /><br />Clearly Kurosawa (who co-wrote the script) is making some social commentary particular to scandal-mongering in post war Japan, but also returning to a familiar theme, that of urging individuals to step out, speak out, to identify injustice and corruption and oppose it, even if this results in social or personal discord, since often the consequence of not doing so is a silent but soul-destroying evil.