Stray Dog (Kueosawa, 1949): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 6.10pm
This 35mm presentation (also screening on February 1st) is part of the Akira Kurosawa season. You can find the full details of the Kurosawa programme here.
Time Out review:
An early encounter between Kurosawa and two of his favourite actors,
Mifune and Shimura, both playing detectives in Japan's uneasy postwar
period under US imperialism. When Mifune's pistol is stolen, he is
overwhelmed by a feeling of dishonour rather than failure, and sets out
on a descent into the lower depths of Tokyo's underworld, which
gradually reveals Dostoievskian parallels between himself and his
quarry. A sweltering summer is at its height, and Kurosawa's strenuous
location shooting transforms the city into a sensuous collage of
fluttering fans and delicate, sweating limbs. A fine blend of US
thriller material with Japanese conventions, it's a small classic.
Chris Peachment
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