Review of Drunken Angel (1948) by Gabriel V — 03 Oct 2008
What a string of films Kurosawa ended the 1940s with: "Drunken Angel," "The Quiet Duel," and "Stray Dog." They are each very different masterpieces, and "Drunken Angel" is the one that most blatantly criticizes a post-World War II Japan.
The location in this is the most haunting and most realistic of the three, as the entire film takes place in a bombed out town that surrounds a diseased lake. Mifune gives a raw and ghostly performance as a small-time mobster, at odds with much of his other work, and while a little overly intense at first, his pairing with Shimura, the perpetually drunken doctor, really works.
Kurosawa is a little less subtle with the metaphors in this one, but he knows how to get away with it beautifully. I'm always impressed with how much information and how many different scenes Kurosawa can wedge into less than two hours.
Like any Kurosawa, a must-see. It's a haunting, surreal, thick film.
This review of Drunken Angel (1948) was written by Gabriel V on 03 Oct 2008.
Drunken Angel has generally received very positive reviews.
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