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Drunken Angel is another of the films by Kurosawa that we studied in the class I'm auditing. I have been enjoying reading our text before watching the movies, because I'm able to catch so much more - from the significance of certain camera choices to better understandings of the translations and themes.

The setting of the movie is that of a black market town situated adjacent to a sump (part of the aftermath of WWII). The sump either dictates or represents the lives of the people living beside it, and one of our protagonists lives a slimy life as a Yakuza gangster. He comes to a doctor for help when he is shot in the hand, and the doctor despises him yet wants to help him. The two enter into an unexpected friendship, and slowly but surely the gangster wants to change.

As I read more and more about Kurosawa, I am learning about what themes interest him. Some of the biggest ones focus on building one's character. He seems to want all of his characters to grow in integrity, but emphasizes that one will never be finished growing, and the one thing that separates a man who grows in integrity from a bad man is choice. However, there are times where it seems that he believes that certain characters are doomed to a certain fate.

Drunken Angel gives us the contrasted yet similar characters of the doctor and the gangster, and by its end, we are watching the gangster as he tries to become a better person as he fights against another gangster. The two are the same, but one has made a choice. This is emphasized when they spill white paint while fighting, and both are covered. They are the same, Kurosawa says, or nearly the same. Does the ending represent the idea that Kurosawa thought they truly were the same, or that it was too late for them to be different? I'm not sure, but the ideas that he explores are interesting.

After watching some of his earliest films, Drunken Angel seemed like a step out into the true potential of Kurosawa. The characters are more fully developed, the integration of the setting as its own character is perfect, and even the music plays a big role in some key scenes. Kurosawa even wrote the song sung by a performer, and used a musically significant moment of his own life (a cuckoo waltz playing when he was reflecting on the passing of a family member) in another scene. Overall, the movie felt more personal; even the weather was significant. One thing I might have changed would have been the ending, which I would have cut slightly shorter instead of having an over-explanatory conversation between two characters after the excitement has ended. I don't want to give away what happens, but I would have ended it as soon as Kurosawa showed the doctor carrying happily carrying some eggs.

A very young and severely emotional Toshiro Mifune (is that last phrase redundant?) stars as the gangster, and I loved watching his transformation. He shares the screen with Takashi Shimura, who holds his own as the doctor. Of the ten or so Kurosawa movies we have watched so far, this is one of my top picks. It simply felt like all of the elements fell into place. Great movie.