Non Samurai-Guy 4: The Rest

Hi everyone, I'm editing things that I wrote and kept as drafts from ages ago, so today we go back to the amazingly unpopular look at Akira Kurosawa movies, 'Non-Samurai Guy' the first three bits of which can be found here, here and here. Since writing this, I've seen some more, but these are the last three movies I can be bothered talking about, so here you go. Spoilers all over the place.

1. The Quiet Duel [1949]

A pretty ordinary poster indeed. [source]

Plot In One Sentence: An idealistic doctor is diagnosed with an effectively incurable disease, and deals with it in a very Japanese way.
Thoughts: This is an odd character piece about morality and disease, it establishes, possibly, Kurosawa's theme that humans are nothing but malfunctioning machines. Its postwar setting, and the thinly veiled allegory for a 'disease caught from a soldier,' puts it alongside movies such as Stray Dog and Drunken Angel, which also depict Japan struggling to come to terms with its defeat and subsequent decline as a military power. The movie also brushes upon another Kurosawa favourite: unfairness - Toshiro Mifune is an unusually moral Doctor, who through no fault of his own catches a terminal STD. The disease is given to him by a soldier who would have to work hard to be described as a 'turd.' The soldier shows up from time to time, mainly to cause trouble. The unfairness, and bad things happening to good people is also seen in the Bad Sleep Well and even I Live In Fear, and is often seen in Kurosawa's later movies

Things have come a long way since the 1940s, not just the cigarette during surgery, but look at that guys haircut on the right!  [source]

Mifune's doctor, aware of his future health and fertility issues, breaks up with his fiancee, who reluctantly goes to another man. She suspects that he has a disease, but he tells her nothing. This is an interesting cultural sign of stoicism: she mentions that if he was to simply tell her the truth, she would wait. However, he refuses and so obeys. It's bizarre, as is the notion, today, that syphilis is beyond treatment, which also acts as another reminder of the dire situation of Japan in the years following their defeat. Shimura, as Mifune's dad, has relatively little to do other than confirm the trope of master and apprentice, another Kurosawa favourite. Perhaps most interesting of all is the presence of two sympathetic female characters, one of whom is a single mother. This hints at the screenplay's origins as a play - I would assume an original screenplay would make at least one of them a little less sympathetic. It also may hint at the loss of young men from the War, though we aren't told specifically if she is divorced or widowed. Either way, she's a strong, clever and loyal character, who seems to suggest that she'll settle with Dr. Mifune too. In conclusion, this is surprisingly straight-forward Kurosawa movie; certainly it's the only one I've seen that will settle for fart Jokes. On the whole, interesting, though not thoroughly recommended.

2. Dreams [1990]

If I had the idea to make a movie about my dreams, I'd be laughed out of the boardroom, but just because he made a dozen or so of the best movies of all time, Kurosawa gets a free reign? Hmm... Either way, this isn't for me. [source]

Plot In One Sentence: Like a thirteen year old girl, Kurosawa thinks that we are interested in his dreams.
Thoughts: I'm not a fan. Late in his career, Kurosawa tells about his dreams through imagery. Martin Scorsese turns up for a little bit too. Other than a moderately atmospheric bit in the snow, it's all awful, especially that peach tree that comes to life. It looks nice, but so does going for a walk outside. Seriously, this is such nonsense, don't even bother.

3. Ikiru [1952] 

An absolutely hideous poster. It looks like outsider art. [source]

Plot In One Sentence: A career bureaucrat takes a new lease on life when he discovers that he has cancer.
Thoughts: A faceless drone learns that he has cancer, and tries to make amends for the faceless drone life he has lived so far. He parties, but doesn't enjoy it. He tries to make up with his son, but he finds he is a dick. Instead, he lives it up with a cute office worker who used to refer to him as 'the Mummy' because he had never had a day off in his career. She invigorates him, and he makes it his duty to build a children's play park on a abandoned lot, but is met by red tape and apathy, something which he is uniquely posed to counter. This plost was the initial story of Parks and Recreation - coincidence? Also of note is that at least 5, possibly 6 of the Samurai are in various parts in the movie, which shows Kurosawa's use of favourite actors in his movies. The only one definitely not in, is his favourite and mine, Toshiro Mifune, who was supposedly to be the lead in this movie, which would have given a completely different vibe to the whole thing. Again we see the Japanese fear of bluntness through the diagnosis of the cancer. Instead of telling him directly, he is told through code given to him by another patient. This is a small thing, but quite interesting.

Look at him there, with his moustache and his files. Loser. [source]

What's interesting is that though this is considered a masterpiece (Roger Ebert added it it his vaulted 'Great Movies' list, for example) a lot of the major plot points occur off screen, most notably his death. I was also surprised that the most famous scene, of Shimura on the swing, is a full half hour from the film's conclusion. The next most famous scene, of him singing a song reminding people to live their lives while they can, is sung in a bizarre, alien monotone, and to my eyes it looked like the crowd was sparked into fear by his depressing news and weird singing. The conclusion is also noteworthy, the whole movie suggests that anyone, given the right motivation (in this case a tumour the size of a dog brain) can make a difference to other peoples lives, this is offset by the conclusion. At the bureaucrats wake, following the swing scene, there is still more than enough time for it to show that his actions did nothing to help, and that all of his colleagues will help to maintain the cycle of inefficiency and bureaucracy. Only one other office worker is influenced to make a difference. A sign, perhaps, that even the slightest difference is better than a lifetime of apathy. 
In conclusion, despite all I've just said, this is a masterpiece, both depressing and uplifting. I have the distinct feeling that this will become more apt as I age. It's also proof, if that was needed, that Shimura is not just the silver medal to Toshiro Mifune, even though he is less dreamy.

OK that's enough of that! Hope everyone is well,
 Pascal!