Stray Dog -Noir Hot Take

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Stray Dog (1949 Japan) written and directed by Kurosawa. This film is beautiful. Kurosawa was the master of Mis en scene. And not only of sight but of sound too. Directors often forget that sound is half the film experience. Kurosawa does not disappoint. Like Raymond Chandler, Kurosawa takes us on a journey to the seedy underbelly of the city creating a thriving character not human in form but human in function. Hell even the weather was it’s own character. The film is led by a hard boiled detective and a soft boiled detective trying to come to terms with post WWII Tokyo in their own way. It’s as if Phillip Marlowe was split into two characters, the dark and the light each having a mutual respect for each other. I could write a long essay on this for a film theory class. But that would be boring. Just watch it and take in Kurosawas brilliance. You won’t regret it. Find it free on Tubi.

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