Stray Dog

1949 Japanese cop movie

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Following shooting practice, a rookie cop named Murakami has his gun stolen on a crowded bus. Embarrassed, he goes on a hunt for the thief. He finds a mentor in a veteran cop named Sato, and together, they work on finding the culprit.

Kurosawa! I almost don't need to say anything else. This looks and feels like an ordinarily copper-chasing-a-bad-guy movie, noirish with some suspense, but it's got such well-defined characters that it becomes something a little deeper. I'm reminded of Slacker and the "Should Have Stayed at the Bus Station" character's ideas about choices people make and how drastically different things would be if opposite choices were made. That's sort of what this movie's about with Mifune's character not only looking for his gun but investigating exactly what his life could be like if he'd chosen a life of crime instead of life as a cop following his experiences in the war. It's interesting to me that as the audience finds out all about the bad guy, a character who isn't seen, you're really getting a glimpse at Mifune's character, a character you do see but who isn't characterized directly. I didn't really like the actual ending, but I did like what should have been the ending with a pair of characters lying in a field. There's also some nice footage showing post-war Japan and a lot of a Japanese baseball game. Good flick, and the inspiration for Rush Hour 4.