The Lower Depths (1957)

Not for the first time, Akira Kurosawa directs an adaptation of Russian literature, albeit a Maxim Gorky play in this case. I see that another Japanese director beat him to it by 36 years, but of course, that silent version can't possibly be as popular overseas. This one includes quite a few actors I've seen in many other movies, but the only name likely to mean something to you is top-billed Toshirō Mifune.

Like Dodes'ka-den, it follows lots of people in a shantytown and dumpsite. Unlike Dodes'ka-den, it takes place mostly in one large room (yeah, one of those plays), in a tenement with tilting walls. You could say that the action begins with the arrival of a new elderly tenant, who serves not only to stand in for the audience as a newcomer but to try to improve the sorry situations of others. He seems almost saintly, if a bit prone to well-meaning lies, but shows evidence of a guilty past.

There isn't a whole lot of plot progression. If there's a main arc, it concerns a thief (Mifune) who's a paramour to the harsh landlady but strays to her nicer sister, quite riskily. There's also a coughing woman waiting to die and wallowing in self-pity, because her husband doesn't offer any pity. Other characters get similar amounts of attention but can hardly be said to have continuing stories.

The running theme, of course, is that these impoverished lives suck. Some tenants used to be somebody, or so they claim. All would like to leave, and at their most desperate, they think they will regardless of destitution. Anywhere else is better, right? I can only assume that lingering doubts get in the way.

Netflix describes the film as surprisingly comical, yet IMDb does not list comedy among its genres. I wasn't surprised that TLD rarely came anywhere close to making me smile. Sure, some of the characters are over the top, and the singing drunken gamblers have humor potential, but it's so dark. Sometimes the negative emotions feel overacted; I'm unsure whether they meant to be fully serious.

I'm starting to think that I've already seen all the Kurosawa pieces I'll ever like. This has been too many half-satisfying entries in a row.