Has Anyone Heard of This? - Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949)

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'Has Anyone Heard of This?' is my favourite thing to say when I finally discover/get into something that has been very famous for a long time. I have recently been saying this about Akira Kurosawa. As a Film Person, I've always been very aware of Kurosawa, but I just never dove in. This year, it was time to dive. Starting with 'Stray Dog.' Coincidentally, I was ill when we put on this movie, nauseous (I think I did throw up a couple of times during). Digustingly, these are the perfect conditions under which to watch this film with maximum empathy. The driving emotion of this film is anxiety. It's being pressed up against the reality of the biggest fuck up of your life so far. It's also the hottest week of the year. Everyone is sweating profusely, all the time, and because it's so wonderfully shot, you're drawn in, and you feel hot too. Even in cold, February England. Mifune looks ill and like he is buzzing with anxiety. Where is that gun? I’m terrified to find out, too.
So many scenes from this film immediately lodged themselves in my memory. Long scenes of people moving through busy environments,observing, asking you to observe too, and to stay with the story through the discomfort, the sweat, the fear of what might happen next. I do believe this particular cop is trying to do the right thing, and it'll all be worth it for some conclusion. The rain will arrive, the storm will break the heat, and Murakami will figure this out. This film is beautiful to look at, made by a director who really, really cared about his craft. I loved it.

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