The Lower Depths

The Lower Depths (Zondoko) (1957)

Runtime: 125 minutes

Directed by: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Kyoko Kagawa, Ganjiro Nakamura, Minoru Chiaki

From: Toho

I saw this film due in part to request. A few days ago, a Letterboxd mutual asked me if I had any list here of Akira Kurosawa; specifically, one which ranked his films. Until last night, I had seen a dozen of his pictures but hadn’t created a list until I compiled one to fulfill that request. After seven days of slapstick comedy, something far more serious was in order. Thus, why not go with a Kurosawa I hadn’t viewed before? Sure, I don’t love this like I do the other Kurosawa movies I’ve raved over… that isn’t a slight on this and more on how great many of his pictures were.

I haven’t viewed the ’36 French movie from Jean Renoir (which had to be more upbeat due to the rise of Hitler and the politics in the country at the time; I stole that fact from the Criterion Channel), let alone the old Russian play from the greatly-named Maxim Gorky. Ostensibly, it’s a hardscrabble tale set in a tenement slum populated with poor, literally dirty characters; Toshiro Mifune--who I also have a list of on Letterboxd-has a romantic relationship with a lady but then attempts a relationship with her sister. However, there are also various ancillary characters which do add character to the story and it was fascinating seeing those personalities interact w/ each other, including the guy whose “bitol organs” are ruined due to alcoholism; there are plenty of others but I won’t spoil it for those that want to give this a shot in the future.

It is not a cheery pick-me-up sort of motion picture; after all, I’ve seen it described as both “fatalistic” and “Nietzschean.” That doesn’t mean there are not humorous moments or even scenes featuring people breaking out into song… both occur in The Lower Depths. It’s a thematically rich and usually interesting film which albeit was obviously adapted from a stage play about social realism; that aspect wasn’t too much a hindrance for me, but YMMV. Even if there are Kurosawa pictures I’d rather revisit first before doing the same w/ this, at least it was an interesting film and will be a gem for some.