Drunken Angel (Yoidore tenshi)
Directed by Akira Kurosawa
Written by Keinosuke Uekusa and Akira Kurosawa
1947/Japan
Toho Company
Repeat viewing/Hulu Plus
[box] Dr. Sanada: Your filthy minds always imagine that angels come looking like dance hall girls but they’re like me.[/box]
Kurosawa really starts to show what he could do in his first collaboration with actor Toshiro Mifune and long-time composer Fumio Hayasaka.
Dr. Sanada (Takashi Shimura) practices medicine out of his hovel which borders on a stagnant sewage outfall in the poor side of town. He is a hot-tempered alcoholic. One day, gangster/yakusa Matsunaga (Mifune) comes into have his hand repaired after being nicked by a stray bullet. Needless to say, Matsunaga is even more volatile than the doctor. Matsunaga happens to mention his cough and Sanada quickly diagnoses TB, although this needs to be confirmed by an X-Ray. Although he assaults Sanada for his trouble, the doctor sees a glimmer of something worth saving in his patient and refuses to stop hounding and berating him until he takes his health seriously.
In the meantime, Sanada has been sheltering a young woman who was formerly the girlfriend of crime boss Okada, who gave her syphillis. Okada is expected to be released from prison any day. When he comes out, he expects to take over the turf he previously ruled which had been Matsunaga’s in the interim. The yasuka are organized in a kind of feudal hierarchy and Matsunaga is extremely loyal and subservient to his boss. He finds that, once he starts coughing up blood, loyalty does not run in both directions.
This is a really moving story about two deeply flawed human beings with sensitive souls. Mifune gives a bravura performance ranging from explosive to pathetic and Shimura is every bit his match. There are some brilliant directorial touches. I particularly liked a fight reflected in mirrors and taken into some paint cans and a Bergman-esque dream sequence. After seeing several older Kurasawa films, I can now really appreciate how big a difference Hayasaka’s score makes. HIghly recommended.
Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfCPkMDAe_E
Just for fun, here is a montage of clips set to Lucinda Williams singing “Drunken Angel”. I like this quite a bit.
