Antonius Block This film is likely to divide people into those who love it and those who hate it. On the one hand, you have to admire Kurosawa's unflinching portraits of Tokyo's poor, and his gentle humanity. He presents those at the bottom in a simple way that reflects how all of mankind is in this set of overlapping vignettes, from the alcoholics and rapists to the steadfast and wise. We find ourselves disgusted with revulsion in one scene, and in the next moment empathetic to the pathos of dreams that will never come true. I enjoyed most the story with the young girl exploited by her uncle (and step-father), which had real tension. 'Dodes 'Ka-Den' reminded me of another Kurosawa film, 'The Lower Depths' from 1957, and just as in that film, amidst those living in squalor ('les miserables' if you will), there is a sage who exudes calm and wisdom. In this film, among other things, he helps a man he finds robbing him at night, and teaches another that he really doesn't want to commit suicide. There are Buddhist overtones here; the acceptance of people's weakness, the wisdom of seeing their positive sides (such as when the husband defends his rude wife in front of his colleagues), and the wisdom of compassion, and helping others.On the other hand, the film is bleak, and at 140 minutes, becomes a little tough to sit through. You hate to think of others destroying an artist's vision, but it's hard to fathom the original 244 minutes. One of the more ponderous stories has a man and his son seriously ill from food poisoning, with both of them in garish makeup, and dreaming of a mansion on a hill. Kurosawa overplays it by going back to visions of the mansion several times, and I think it would have been much more powerful had this concept been limited to a single scene. Another story I wasn't fond of had a couple of drunken laborers swapping wives on a whim; while the intent may have been to shock, the entire story falls flat and is dated. Lastly, while there is symbolism in the mentally challenged boy believing he's a tram conductor (from which the title derives), this story is never developed and is also predictable.I see both sides and end up in the middle in my review score. I would not want to watch the film again, and would only recommend it to a Kurosawa fan, which is not a good sign. The film is just a little too understated in its lessons for its length, and too uneven in its story-telling. The use of primary colors and simple sets may have been meant to heighten the feeling of desolation, but it also means a film with few moments of beautiful cinematography. It's sad to me that its poor reception, building on top of the 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' fiasco, was one of the factors that drove Kurosawa to attempt suicide the following year. If anything, it's interesting as a snapshot into the director's life, and his subtle philosophical message.

poe-48833 Within the past week or so, we've seen a video (which went "viral," as they say) showing cops in Los Angeles snatching blankets off of homeless people on a frigid winter night. We're told that there are currently 120, 000 homeless people living (if you can call it "living") on the streets of L.A. (There are approximately two Million shipping containers scattered across America, discarded by shipping companies once their cargo has been offloaded. I've worked in the belly of cargo ships, myself, and I've seen these containers up close. They would make GREAT homes for people who can't afford housing. They're cheap- between $500 and $2,000- and could be outfitted at little cost, then rented on a case by case basis to people who need shelter.) In DODESKADEN, Kurosawa gives us a collection of Free Poor struggling simply to survive to see the coming day. One of my favorites is the old man who is "robbed." Wise enough to understand what's going on, he GIVES the thief what he's come to steal and then promises to save up what he can for the thief's next visit; the thief leaves bowing thankfully. Another character was one I could relate to: the Beggar's son. Been there, done that, although I didn't end up the way the kid does. If you're one of those who tire of the endless s--- being cranked out by the Military Entertainment Complex and want to find something that deals with HUMAN characters caught up in Real Life Circumstances, check out DODESKADEN.

Luis Angel Gonzalez An invisible train rides into a poor, gloomy neighborhood to show us the lives of its peculiar and unique dwellers. Dodeskaden stands for the sound of rail wheels as they advance on the track, although rather than real wheels, the sound is articulated by Roku-chan, the character that leads us to the place where the film unravels.The place, as I mentioned above, is inhabited by some really atypical people; we have two men that are very good friends to the extent they would exchange their wives so they can forget about their daily discussions for a while, as they usually arrive home drunk; There is a father living in the streets who often imagines building a mansion piece by piece in an unknown location, getting his son involved in the process; there is also a mysterious man who never utters a single word and whose presence is reminiscent of death itself. Characters like these are what make this film worth the watch (accompanied by superb acting).Any Kurosawa fan should not hesitate to pick this one up, they will surely find something of interest here.

Dustin Fox Kurosawa, fresh into color, losses sight of his usual themes of truth and perception of reality and opts for a depressing take on Tokyo's slums. Kurosawa stretches for a style that was, in my opinion, his antithesis- that is to say, I feel as if Kurosawa wanted to make an Ozu picture. Poorly paced, poorly conceived, this movie is a rare dud in this auteur body of excellent work. While Ikiru, while being mundane and depressing, was still interesting and well paced, and while Stray Dog depicted the slums and social poverty of Japan without being too heavy handed or boring, do desu ka den has all the somberness that one could expect with its content, with none of the redeeming qualities of earlier Kurosawa pictures.Be warned, this is not a movie that Kurosawa should be judged by.