Bloodtype Online

Akira Kurosawa's Drunken Angel (1948)

The Criterion Collection 

    The fact that I watched this recently is a strange coincidence, not because it had a recent release over here in the States, but because I have been having several conversations with another reviewer about the state of Japan following the end of World War 2 in which this was filmed and set. The squallor, poverty and disease that was rampant is perfectly captured in this movie, which at its heart is a basic tale of gangsters and individuals need to change. Of course there is plenty of subtext regarding the change for the country itself as a whole which I will try not to get into being as I am no historian and i'll end up looking like an ass. It's there though and it's not very subtle. 

    The story itself follows two main characters, that initially seem to be total opposites, but at the movie progresses we see that aren't all that different. Matsunaga (Toshiro Mifune) walks into the office of Dr Sanada (Takashi Shimura) with an injured hand, an injury he insists he got by closing it in a door. However, upon removing a bullet from the wound Sanada deduces that Matsunaga is actually a member of the local Yakuza, of whom he has little time for. When Matsunaga complains of a fever though the doctor suspects it may be tuberculosis, a disease that is rampant throughout the slums of Tokyo. Although he has no time for gangsters he tries to help Matsunaga, although the proud gangster won't admit to either needing the help or that anything is really wrong with him. 

    So begins a strange relationship between the doctor, who is the drunken angel of the title, and the Yakuza boss who is on a slide from power. A slide that is further emphasised when his previous boss, Okada, is released from jail and wants his patch back. Matsuanaga and Sanada's paths are further entwined when we learn that the doctor's nurse is Okada's former girlfriend, or "wench" as he puts it. 

    Drunken Angel was a most enjoyable movie that borrows from the gangster films of the US yet still very much has its own unique identity. A bleak, in setting as well as story, movie that still manages to be somewhat uplifting by the time the closing credits roll. What lifts it above many movies though are the two central performances; Shimura as the drunken bitter doctor that stayed in the slums whilst his former classmates moved on to more prestidgous practises. He helps the poor yet can't find it withn to help himself as he drinks from his own medical supplies. Then there's Mifune as the gangster who on the surface is all swagger and an outward pride that knows he needs the help but finds it hard to break free of the restraints of being a Yakuza. Both were excellent, aided by a decent and surprisingly gritty script, but who also have a strong supporting cast to back them up. 

    Visually this is a fairly depressing movie, set as it is in and around the open sewers. Even when the action moves into the nightclubs and markets there is no getting away from the squallor in which most of the characters live. Although it was shot in black and white Kurosawa uses light and shadow to great effect, especially seeing Matsunaga's gradual deteriation as he succumbs to the disease. Infact I don't think this movie would have worked half as well had it been shot in color, such is the nature of the film. 

    Overall Drunken Angel is a very good movie that should appeal to fans of Japanese cinema as well as those that enjoy the Film Noir of Hollywood. A dark movie that only lets you out of its depression in the final few moments. There's no glamour to be had in the world of Drunken Angel, just a harsh reality which makes it all the more engrossing. 

*** 1/2

- Jude Felton