Written by: Akira Kurosawa & Ryūzō Kikushima
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Noriko Sengoku, Noriko Honma
Rating: [4.5/5]
When starting a new job a mix of excitement and nervousness could brew internally with the prospect of kicking off something new with the fear of screwing up right from the start. Something quite common, but when the screw-up you make could negatively impact the lives of others, it makes the pressure to not mess up much more amplified as seen in Stray Dog. Guilt and anger manifest in a journey to make reparations for a mistake made.
Newly promoted as a detective, Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) loses his issued pistol while on a trolley. Desperate to find who took his gun, he begins to learn about incidents occurring with his gun by the individuals wielding it. He enlists the help of seasoned detective Satō (Takashi Shimura) to help find the pistol before more lives get negatively impacted.
Taking place during a grueling hot summer, the temperature rises not only on the surface but in the headspace of Murakami as he undergoes quite a stressful experience in this film. Starting fresh as a detective, he enters the force with this air of idealism about the job and the good he can do, which quickly sours when having to confront his very own mistake of causing harm to others. Crime, in itself, serves as a blight to society but trying to reconcile that with the fact the only reason the current issue exists is because of your specific actions makes it all much worse. This obviously leaves Murakami at the edge for the entirety of the feature letting the tension boil right on the surface.
Finding this gun becomes priority #1 on top of bringing to justice to the individual who took it as Murakami gets asked how many bullets were in it his reply is fully loaded with seven. This gives the culprit seven opportunities to do something terrible with a firearm registered with a police officer. At first, it gets utilized with a robbery and then things get much worse as events move along only further enraging Murakami because of this helplessness he feels. Through this narrative, we see the cheeriness and excitement he had completely dissipate because of the stress of this circumstance. Something quite sad to see but incredibly effective in following the progression of this character, especially when adding detective Satō into the mix.
His addition to the story brings experience but also realism into this burst dream of a good start for Murakami. As they work together trying to find ways to infiltrate the illicit firearms markets and asking for assistance from seedy individuals, this veteran gives the rookies some lessons about the reality of the job and the world. Certainly, a combination becoming combative in moments because of the overall frustration of this circumstance but this combination allows Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura yet another opportunity to collaborate with each other to such a great degree.
While having different stories, this feature feels like the appropriate companion piece with Drunken Angel, which has these two act in similar roles with Mifune representing the young man needing guidance and Shimura bringing the wisdom and knowledge to try and steer him in the right direction. In the aforementioned film, this dynamic exists as doctor-patient, while this feature has them as colleagues within the same line of work, but the effect remains the same on how well these two work together, especially when in an Akira Kurosawa movie. Because of the rising tension occurring in this feature, it presents the perfect opportunity for Mifune to bring his famous boisterous style of performance exhibiting the pain and anger stemming from his character at all times allowing Shimura to present the calmness necessary to get things done. They fit these roles so incredibly well and they assist in making the film feel quite immediate and important as they continue this journey towards finding this pistol.
This mission these detectives find themselves in allows for an intriguing view of a post-war Tokyo and who became players as opposed to the police. Namely, it appears with the yakuza, as a crime syndicate and it comes as no surprise they have some involvement in what occurs in this feature. Through the different back alleys and conversations, this feature demonstrates how these individuals lived during a time following a difficult period in the history of the nation. From displaying the ration cards for rice people had in order to get fed to the desperation of the individual found responsible for possessing the gun, it presents a look at these citizens and what why feel they need to do in order to survive. In addition, following the pattern of the victims in this feature demonstrates a weapon meant to be used for the good of society gets turned around and utilized to specifically harm the women of it with each crime revealing who suffered from the use of it. Something making it much more difficult for Murakami to swallow when more gets uncovered.
Completely enthralling as a story and boasted by two wonderful lead performances, Akira Kurosawa takes us deep into the depravity taking place in Tokyo through Stray Dog. A film displaying the immense heat these characters feel only amplifies the terrible decisions being made and how it impacts the surrounding citizens. The slow and steady decline of Murakami’s hope and excitement for this job allows for cynicism to reign and completely vanquish the positive outlook held by this rookie as unintended consequences rise to the forefront.
Films with Josh 
