Stray Dog
1949
***
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Isao Kimura, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Shingo Yamashiro, Reikichi Kawamura, Minoru Chiaki, Yoshio Kosugi
A rookie detective loses his revolver to a pickpocket in a Tokyo trolley. His search for the criminal who is using the pistol takes him deep into the city’s underworld and reveals the traumas of post-war Japan. Akira Kurosawa's taut contemporary drama is a departure from the historical spectacles he's best known for. The story is gripping and original, but it goes on way too long.
