Stray Dog (1949, Akira Kurosawa) (Patreon)

66/100

Second viewing, last seen 2002. Interesting to watch Kurosawa experiment with different durational approaches here, in ways that will inform High and Low (his greatest film imo) a decade later. Formally, this sucker's a model of brisk efficiency, with horizontal wipes and ultra-quick dissolves moving us along the instant that a scene's function has been fulfilled; the pace is damn near breathless at times, creating the impression of a narrative concerned solely with charting a clear path to its destination. At the same time, though, when Mifune's mortified detective searches for his stolen gun on the streets, the formally brisk and efficient montage depicting his labors goes on and on and on and on. Conservatively, I'd say 10x longer than was necessary to convey the idea that he spent quite a lot of time fruitlessly looking. Kurosawa risks tedium to put us in the guy's headspace, giving real weight to his sense of futility and growing shame. (This is the least "alpha" Mifune character in Kurosawa's oeuvre, I think, despite his being a cop. He's hotheaded—the partnership between Satō and Takamura has a real Somerset-and-Mills vibe, now that I think about it—but endlessly deferential and often inept.) And no opportunity to emphasize the heat wave during which Stray Dog takes place gets squandered, with beads of sweat, unbuttoned clothing, and omnipresent fans creating an oppressive atmosphere that eventually predominates. What the film lacks is psychological depth, something more potent than just Takamura's guilt about his gun being used to commit murders. That's a little too straightforward, though it's still very effective when Satō investigates a lead on his own and it becomes clear what's likely to happen (especially when the hotel clerk turns the radio on—beware contrapuntal music). Numerous seeds of greatness get planted, and it didn't take long for them to sprout.