Akira Kurosawa's first color film Dodesukaden (1970) offers a rich portrayal of poverty-stricken people in Tokyo. Among the massive ensemble, there are two drunkards who swap wives, a boy who drives and maintains an imaginary tram while living alone with his mother and a homeless man who spends his days designing his dream house with his son. Kurosawa's skill to create unforgettable characters is obvious in Dodesukaden because each one of them is rich even though there isn't a lot of screentime for anyone in particular. When you take into consideration the ridiculous amount of characters, the running time (140 minutes) isn't very long - yet the film manages to delve into all of their lives in enormous detail. The narrative seems to switch between the stories aimlessly, but due to Kurosawa's magical storytelling it never becomes hard to follow the story.
Even though it does not give a favorable image of Tokyo, it never seems critical about the city (or the country, for that matter). The absurd conditions help the film from falling into simple social criticism. The eccentric sets make the film seem independent of the real world - and that's only good because the attention should be on the characters. Kurosawa handles the characters in a genuinely caring and compelling way even though there are strong elements of tragedy. His powerful passion for the characters is directly passed along to the viewers. And that's what makes Dodesukaden great.
Kurosawa's form is fine as well although it is a bit more confusing than in his earlier films. Most of the time, everything works really well in terms of telling the story poignantly. The compositions and pacing are especially good. His use of long takes pays off excellently. His overemphasis of colors is distracting at times which makes the film feel a bit uneven for a moment.
I came to the conclusion that while Dodesukaden is underrated (or at least it isn't given enough attention), it is one of Kurosawa's "lesser" masterpieces. The genuinely interesting characters make the film worthwhile.
Score: 9 out of 10
To Ardhanarishwara, the blissfully turing one who resides in the third eye plexus (Ajna Chakra) of each aspirant and who denotes the union of my Param Gurudeva Bhagwan Shiva and my Param Gurudevi Maa Shakti, are offered these salutions, prior this little student continues any further with the text,
ReplyDeleteFor more info visit: Self realization