Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune are on the hunt in Kurosawa detective story
STRAY DOG (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
January 6-14
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
Akira Kurosawa’s thrilling police procedural, STRAY DOG, is one of the all-time-great film noirs. When newbie detective Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) gets his Colt lifted on a bus, he thinks he will be fired if he does not get it back. But as he searches for it, he discovers that it is being used in a series of robberies and murders that he feels responsible for. Teamed with seasoned veteran Sato (Takashi Shimura), Murakami risks his career — and his life — as he tries desperately to track down his gun before it is used again. Kurosawa makes audiences sweat as postwar Japan is in the midst of a heat wave, with Murakami, Sato, prostitute Harumi Namiki (Keiko Awaji), and others constantly mopping their brows, dripping wet. Inspired by the novels of Georges Simenon, STRAY DOG is a dark, intense drama shot in creepy black and white by Asakazu Nakai and featuring a jazzy soundtrack by Fumio Hayasaka that unfortunately grows melodramatic in a few key moments — and oh, if only that final scene had been left on the cutting-room floor. A new 35mm print of STRAY DOG kicks off Film Forum’s celebration of Kurosawa’s centennial, four weeks and twenty-nine films, including such outright classics as THRONE OF BLOOD, THE HIDDEN FORTRESS, RASHOMON, DERSU UZALA, SEVEN SAMURAI, and RAN as well as such lesser-known faves as IKIRU, DRUNKEN ANGEL, and SCANDAL. YOJIMBO and SANJURO make up a terrific double feature on February 3, while the extremely standard and boring SANSHIRO SUGATA films are screened together on January 18. Keep watching this space for more select reviews.
When two famous people are caught together at a hotel in the mountains, a scandal breaks out as a lurid gossip magazine prints their picture and makes up a sordid romance that is not true. With their reputations tainted, they consider suing the publication, but they run into problems with their ragtag lawyer, who has a bit of a gambling problem. Akira Kurosawa regular Toshirô Mifune stars as Ichiro Aoye, a well-known painter who likes smoking pipes and riding his flashy motorcycle. Yoshiko Yamaguchi is Miyaka Saijo, a timid pop singer who is terrified of the unwanted publicity. And Takashi Shimura is Hiruta, the struggling lawyer devoted to his young daughter, who is dying of TB. The first half of the movie is involving right from the roaring opening-titles sequence, with good characterization and an alluring story line. Unfortunately, the film bogs down in the second half, especially during the hard-to-believe courtroom scenes, the only ones of Kurosawa’s career. And the Christmas bit is tired and cliché-ridden, even if might have been unique at the time for a film made in postwar Japan. But Kurosawa’s attack on the media is still valid today, even if he did fill it with sappy melodrama.
For everyone who thought Lyme disease was a minor little annoyance that is going away, Andy Abrahams Wilson is about to open your eyes. In UNDER OUR SKIN, the director-cinematographer details horrifying stories of men, women, and children stricken with the tic-borne illness who have often been misdiagnosed for years by doctors and health-care companies that believe their symptoms are all in their head — or that they are actually suffering from fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, or other diseases. Wilson, who refused to believe that his twin sister had contracted the potentially debilitating illness many years ago, speaks with people battling Lyme disease — which affects the neurological system, causing both physical and psychological problems — as well as family members dealing with difficult situations, doctors who are finding it harder to get funding to do research into the causes of the disease, and even one physician who seems to be on a personal mission to prove that most people who claim to have Lyme disease do not — and that they should not be covered by insurance companies. Unsurprisingly, as with so many health-related issues, it’s always best to follow the money, which Wilson does, uncovering some fascinating and infuriating information. UNDER OUR SKIN is a powerful, important film, one that will leave you scratching your head — in addition to other parts of your body.
