Various characters live in a rubbish slum village. Dim-witted Roku-chan lives with his mother and pretends to drive a streetcar. There is the elderly Mr. Tamba. Shima has his ticks and a combative wife. Katsuko lives with her mean-spirited drunken uncle while her aunt is in the hospital. There is always a gaggle of women at the communal water spigot. Some in the settlement struggle to make ends meet while others drink their lives away.
This is Akira Kurosawa's first colored film and he's using a kaleidoscope of colors. It's a rambling piece going from one character to the next without much connective flow. These are little vignettes of life. They are mostly unreal. Some are compelling and some are funny. Far too many ramble on and on. Without a plot or much drama, watching this becomes mostly an exercise in Kurosawa fandom.
This is Akira Kurosawa's first colored film and he's using a kaleidoscope of colors. It's a rambling piece going from one character to the next without much connective flow. These are little vignettes of life. They are mostly unreal. Some are compelling and some are funny. Far too many ramble on and on. Without a plot or much drama, watching this becomes mostly an exercise in Kurosawa fandom.