Akira Kurosawa-Dodesukaden (1970)

Based on a novel by Shugoro Yamamoto, it depicts the lives of post-war Tokyo's slum through 8 episodes. It's also the master filmmaker's first film in color, under the supervision of the highly acclaimed cinematographer Takao Saito (who worked on many Kurosawa films including Sanjuro, Red Beard, Dodes'ka-den, Kagemusha, Ran, and Akira Kurosawa's Dreams). JImport




Episodes from the lives of a group of Tokyo slum-dwellers: Rokkuchan, a retarded boy who brings meaning and routine to his life by driving an imaginary streetcar; children who support their parents by scrounging or by tedious and ill-paying endeavours; schemers who plot or dream of escaping the shackles of poverty. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0065649/plotsummary)




Made in 1970, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1972. This is Kurosawa's first color film, and there seems to be an almost psychedelic overlay to his production palette. The story revolves around a collection of characters held together only by the frayed thread of poverty. Rokkuchan (Yoshitaka Zushi), a teenager with the mind of a boy, is obsessed with trolley cars. He draws them from every angle in vivid colors. His despondent mother (Kin Sugai) hangs them lovingly on the walls and windows of their simple home. Every morning Rokkuchan goes out to his imaginary trolley car and makes his way through the surrounding slums.




His neighbors include a humble man with a terrible limp and an unforgiving wife, two couples who color-coordinate their husband-swapping, and a sad derelict man with an adoring but doomed little boy. During the day, father and son pass the time building a dream house in their minds. At night they sleep in an abandoned car. (–Luanne Brown - Editorial Reviews - Amazon.com)