Tuesday, March 18th 2008 at 18h00
L’Ariel Mont-Saint Aignan

The Lower Depths (Donzoko)

(Feature film, Japan, 1957, 137’, Black and white, OVFST)

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa
With: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada…
Produced by: Toho Company (Tokyo)

Synopsis:
In the neighborhoods isolated from Tokyo of 1860s.
In a slum flophouse, a collection of beggars and thieves bewail their lot in life, and Osugi, the landlady, fights with her sister, Okayo, over the man they both desire, the thief Sutekichi.

Review:
“In Donzoko Kurosawa gives us an adaptation that is both faithful to the original play and inventive in its transformation of the story to a Japanese context and in the mastery of cinematic form that gives expression to that story. It’s a demonstration of Kurosawa at the height of his powers — which makes it unfortunate to add that the film (perhaps because of its faithfulness) ultimately is also a little dull: it does seem a long 125 minutes.”
Ian Johnston