Table of contentsGeneral observationsThe pursuit of the womanThe city montageThe chase and the final fightConclusion"Stray Dog" is a formidable detective novel, a kind of Japanese film noir, from the director Akira Kurosawa. , and one of the first films he made with legendary actor Toshiro Mifune. Kurosawa himself said he didn't like the film, but audiences love it and more people are discovering it all the time. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay This article discusses three sequences that, in my opinion, capture the essence of the film. General Observations “Stray Dog” was made in 1949 and has a great deal of complexity about it; it works on several levels. There is the basic detective novel; there is also the story of the young man and his older mentor, which can also be seen (although I wouldn't push the metaphor too far) as the struggle between modern Japan and its traditional culture; there is the struggle of Japan itself trying to find its place in the world; and there is the relationship between the young detective and the killer which is almost a mirror image. The story is simple: a young detective named Murakami (Toshiro Mifune) has his pocket picked and his pistol stolen on a crowded bus; a woman leans against him and distracts him while her accomplice steals the gun. There is a black market for guns (which says a lot about 1948 Japan) and he is determined to get them back and goes hunting through Tokyo. As he and his section leader, Sato (Takashi Shimura), follow leads, Murakami becomes concerned, then obsessed with the idea that it is his gun that is being used to commit crimes, and that he is somehow responsible for these crimes. Eventually, Murakami and Sato discover the murderer's girlfriend, and while Murakami stays and questions her, Sato goes to the hotel where she was supposed to meet the murderer, a young man named Yusa. Although Sato is in civilian clothes, he betrays himself and Yusa shoots him while he (Sato) is on the phone with Murakami. Murakami hears this with horror and rushes to the hospital to be with Sato, who is in serious condition; Yusa runs away. But eventually, Murakami learns that Yusa will be at the station the next morning, goes there, finds him and, after a chase and a fight, captures him. This brief overview doesn't really do this wonderful film justice; it is a treasure that must be seen again and again. The three sequences I'd like to talk about are all chases: Murakami's pursuit of the woman who distracted him on the bus; his long walk through the city in search of his weapon; and the chase and the final fight. It should also be noted that the city is in the heat: everyone is drenched in sweat, their clothes stick to them, sweat runs down their faces, etc. Heat itself becomes a character that exerts incessant pressure. on Murakami to find the weapon. It also makes people angry and irritable. As he does in many of his films, Kurosawa uses what I would call a "weather cue" to indicate a major turning point in the film. When Murakami questions Yusa's girlfriend, she lies to him at first, but he persists. When she finally tells the truth, the storm literally breaks. It starts to rain heavily. The heatwave is broken, the tension diminishes and the film moves towards its resolution. “However, the storm also signals that there is a price to pay, with the result being that Sato falls prey to the killer and Murakami must take the blame alone.” (Smith, PG).The Pursuit of the WomanThe woman sought by Murakami is the pickpocket's accomplice, a prostitute who was leaning against him on the bus.He finds his "forensic mug shot" among thousands of others, and Sato identifies him; apparently he arrested her several times. In fact, the two seem friendly: the wise old cop and the prostitute with a heart of gold make an interesting combination, and there's no shortage of it here. But she doesn't speak, so Murakami follows her. She sneaks into stores; he waits outside. She crosses an alley; he waits for her in the street. She takes the tram; he jumps on it at the last second. He follows her for an entire afternoon and late into the night, until she gives up, exasperated. They're both exhausted, hot and upset, but they seem to have made a connection. She finally brings him a cold drink and sits on a deck next to him, where they both look up and admire the stars. But the enthusiastic young detective has learned something, and instead of questioning her immediately, he just sits and waits for her to start talking. There is a camaraderie between the two of them that suggests he, too, might learn the importance of having informants. He begins to acquire a certain "street smarts" which Sato obviously possesses. The urban montage After learning that his weapon will be sold on the black market, Murakami tries to contact the ring. He learns that they sometimes approach men who seem desperate enough to commit a crime and sell them guns. Murakami puts on his old military uniform, then wanders around Tokyo, trying to blend in, trying to look like someone who needs a gun. Kurosawa's montage is almost entirely silent, save for the natural sounds of the city. There's no music underneath, and very little dialogue, just a long montage (almost ten minutes) of Murakami's walk through the city. He stops to talk to people, but we don't hear the words; he looks around him; he sits down and takes a break; and all around it is a teeming mass of people as hot, tired and sweaty as he is. And yet, and this is, I think, Kurosawa's point of view, Murakami never manages to blend in. It's true that he wears his old army uniform to appear like a down-on-his-luck veteran, but there's something about him that sets him apart from the crowd. The people he meets don't seem to trust him and he makes little progress in his research. It's not so much his appearance that screams "undercover cop", but rather the fact that his intensity is frightening to a certain extent. He becomes obsessed with getting the gun back, and this urgency is reflected in the tenseness of his body and the determined way he moves. He does not walk or parry; it moves quite quickly, despite the heat. He is in the crowd, but not part of it. In this sense, I think he represents post-war Japan itself, searching for its place in the world and aware that the world may not be ready to accept it. Chase and FightThe most compelling sequence in the film for me is the final chase, fight and capture. Throughout the film, Kurosawa presented us with clearly drawn parallels between Murakami and Yusa. In fact, the two men are very similar: they are both army veterans; both had to face the defeat of Japan; they are both young and attractive; and both had to try to make a living in a country destroyed by war. Yusa turned to crime, but Murakami chose the police. In this he echoes Sato, who also felt he had to make a choice. His possessions, like Yusa's, were stolen: “'Look, my backpack and my money were also stolen. I felt outraged. I could have flown too. I knew it was a moment).