Stray Dog (1949) [Film Review]

Stray Dog; or, Lethal Weapon in Japanese style

If it wasn't a Colt...

         ...it'd have been a Browning.

Before Akira Kurosawa became famous internationally with his critically acclaimed picture called Rashomon, he directed a string of seven movies that made his name recognisable throughout Japan. The last of these early movies, made in 1949, was Kurosawa’s take on the noir genre entitled Stray Dog.

Release Info

Directed by:Akira Kurosawa Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji
Language: Japanese Original Title: Nora Inu Runtime: 122 min

Plot

It’s a same old story. A cop is riding in a trolley, he is surrounded by a thick crowd of passengers, exhausting heat is pouring down from the sky, and the cop’s gun gets snatched... Thus, a rookie detective Murakami has to delve deep into the underworld of poverty and crime in order to retrieve his precious colt. When it turns out that the stolen gun is used in a robbery and later in a murder, Murakami teams up with an experienced homicide detective Sato and now the two cops are chasing after a mysterious culprit with the colt, nicknamed by them as Stray Dog.

Cops’n Guns

Stray Dog is a highly unusual selection in Kurosawa’s repertoire. Hell, it stands out as a sore thumb from his tales about samurai, nostalgic dramas, or human interest stories. Actually, Stray Dog is the very first type of a buddy cop movie. Even though Kurosawa did not have high regard for this particular entry in his filmography, it cannot be denied that even today the movie has a real impact on the viewer.

We follow the story of Murakami, a hard-boiled and impatient police officer who acts first and thinks later. The cop is so ashamed by the loss of his gun that is even able to spend days and nights hopelessly looting on the backstreets of Tokyo so as to track down any gun dealer. Unfortunately, his official gun is already in usage of a very dangerous man and only the assistance of a police veteran Sato can help Murakami to stop the menace. Surprisingly, during an intensive investigation, the involuntary partners grow quite fond of each other. Murakami’s youthful spirit is a great equaliser for Sato’s sentimentality forbearing, which enables them to get closer and closer to Stray Dog by following a long line of questionable leads. As a result, it is even more heartbreaking to watch when the two cops have to risk with their lives in the final, extremely ironic and grotesque, sequence of the movie.

Another social statement from good old Kurosawa

Of course, it wouldn’t be his movie, if there hadn’t been a special message for the audience. In Stray Dog, Kurosawa makes his first attempt to “justify the wrongdoer”. As the story develops, the viewers together with Murakami and Sato gradually discover that Stray Dog is just a scared and desperate man, a pitiful victim of circumstances who made some bad choices after WWII. However, such presentation of a villain does not clearly work here, at least in my perception. I can understand that a man pushed to his limits can eventually resolve to buy an illegal gun and rob somebody, but also resort to murdering someone? This is way out of the line. Kurosawa did much better job with transforming a villain into an anti-hero in case of his later movie called High and Low (already reviewed). At least in that movie, the kidnapper wasn’t shooting anybody.

Recommendations

I safely recommend this film to everyone who is a fan of Kurosawa and noir genre in general. Because honestly, this is a detective/buddy cop flick at its best with awesome performances delivered by young Toshiro Mifune and already acclaimed Takashi Shimura. Stray Dog is a unique gem that every movie buff should watch.

Overall Score: 8/10