"The Japanese love to sacrafice themselves for stupid things"
Drunken Angel is an impressive Noir style film from the master Kurosawa, coming in two years before his breakthrough, Rashomon. It features two of his biggest stars, Takashi Shimura and the great Toshiro Mifune who were both major actors in Rashomon, Ikiru, The Seventh Samuri and others. Shimura plays Doctor Sanada, an alcoholic, yet morally centered Doctor in a dirty, crowded city. He is crude and has his vice but he is devoted to the health of the people in his town. Mifune plays the role of Matsunaga, a well dressed gangster (so well dressed that I did not recognize him at first) who visits Doctor Sanada after getting a bullet in his hand. During the visit it becomes apparent that Matsunaga has a bad case of tuberculosis. Matsunaga is stubborn and the two are constantly in conflict about the seriousness of the disease. When Okada, a rival gang member, returns from a stint in prison Matsunaga struggles to keep his role in the gang without letting on that he is growing sicker every day. We watch as Mifune's character struggles with Doctor Sanada, the dangerous Okada, TB and the realization that his reckless lifestyle is killing him. Extra drama is added when we learn that Doctor Sanada's assistant and lover has a history with Okada, who is looking around town for her.Drunken Angel has the action of later Kurosawa films, including an extraordinary climax, but mostly this is a film about humanity and is closer akin to a movie like Ikiru. The big moments draw us in but the quiet moments are what keep us routing for Mifune and Shimura. The film is complex and is loaded up on symbolism. The best example of this is the large sewage puddle in the middle of the part of town where Doctor Sanada lives, most likely a comment on the state of Tokyo and Japan at the time. Stoicism is a major theme throughout Drunken Angel, as it is in many of Kurosawa's films. Stoicism is the philosophy that states that one should take what life gives them in a quiet, dignified manor. This mantra has been revered in many societies throughout history, however, stoicism has its critics. Matsunaga exemplifies the potential problems with stoicism. He is proud and wants to appear fearless of his disease, and when Doctor Sanada directs the young gangster to change his lifestyle Matsunaga tells the doctor that he is going to die eventually so why not die now. By doing this Matsunaga is accepting what life has given him to the point of submission. With an understanding of the servile effects Stoicism can have on its followers it is easy to see why stoicism was strategically picked as the official philosophy of the Roman Empire.
The interaction between Matsunaga and Doctor Sanada is another important aspect of the film. They are both strong and set in their ways and even though the two seem to have contempt for one another, they need each other. Matsunaga needs the doctor for his health, and Sanada needs to know that he has done everything he can for as many of his people as possible. Their relationship becomes a tug-of-war contest. Doctor Sanada is sometimes too honest and harsh in his approach, often times leading to an irate Matsunaga who is sensitive to the idea that he needs any help in the first place. When Matsunaga is too proud the doctor turns him away. This relationship eases over time but the two men struggle with this throughout the film.Akira Kurosawa is one of my favorite directors and watching this film makes me want to re-watch the ones i have seen and watch the ones i have neglected thus far. It has become a joy to watch the brutish, animal energy of Toshiro Mifune and the fatherly wisdom of Takashi Shimura, so to see them together early on in their collaberations with Kurosawa is a treat. If you are looking for a samuri movie this is not the film for you, but if you are familiar with the great Kurosawa's work this is a must see.
My Rating: 9/10
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