Today, I have for you an early film from the great Akira Kurosawa. While Kurosawa isn’t really obscure, this film is not among his more well-known works, at least in a general sense, so I figured it fit our criteria. Anyway, Drunken Angel is a film that shows the gritty and somewhat downbeat drama that’s present in a lot of Japanese storytelling (especially at the time it was made), and also illustrates the budding talents of a younger filmmaker, even if he was still figuring things out. Plus, it features two of his most famous recurring actors, and in fact was actually the start of one of these creative relationships. So, let’s get into the story.
The film takes place in the post-war era of Japan and follows two characters: Sanada, a local doctor with a drinking problem, and Matsunaga, a local thug with tuberculosis. Sanada figures out that Matsunaga has TB when he comes into his office, and he orders Matsunaga to cut out all the drinking and partying he’s been doing. Matsunaga doesn’t listen, however, resulting in a heated and violent argument. Sanada doesn’t give up on him, more so out of a sense of honor to his profession than anything else (or so he claims) and keeps pushing him to take better care of himself. The two end up forming something of an odd friendship, which isn’t very friendly at all, more like two stubborn people who both hate and like each other at the same time. Whatever you want to call it, eventually Matsunaga starts listening to Sanada, until his old buddy Okada gets released from the joint. Okada is basically Matsunaga’s “sworn brother” in the yakuza world and was also seeing Sanada’s assistant Miyo before he went inside. Miyo considers seeing Okada, even after how poorly he used to treat her, but Sanada has none of that and stands up to Okada when he comes to try and see her. Meanwhile, Matsunaga relapses and joins Okada in reckless nights of partying and gambling, which leads to him passing out and being taken to Sanada again. During the stand-off between Sanada and Okada, Matsunaga tries to use his connection with Okada to beg him to back off. Well, he backs off for the moment, but with the thought that Matsunaga isn’t loyal enough to the yakuza (and him). Sanada warns Matsunaga again that his friend is nothing but trouble, but Matsunaga still believes that their bonds of brotherhood are forever. He was in for a nasty shock, as the next day, when he heads over to the big boss’s house, he overhears a meeting that all but confirms that they were only using him as a turf lord until Okada could get out of prison, and now that Okada’s out and he’s deteriorating health-wise, they’re basically going to use him as gun fodder and be done with him. What will Matsunaga do? Will he seek revenge on his former “friends”? Will he leave for the country with the barmaid who cares for him? Where does this all leave Sanada? That’s for you to see, as I have to get on with my impression of the film.
So, I’ll admit, I haven’t really seen too many Japanese crime films, so I don’t know much about the conventions or tropes within them. I’m not sure if it’s common for those kinds of films to have a more downbeat presentation and story, but I can say for sure that that’s what this one is going for. This is very much a story about the inevitable destruction that a thug’s life leads to, as well as being about negative behavior fueled by a stubborn and egotistic world view and how hard it is to break away from those sorts of mentalities. It’s very possible that Matsunaga deep down doesn’t want the life that he has and truly wants to leave it behind, as he was willing to stop indulging for the sake of his health, even if he had to be nagged about it. However, when Okada came back into his life, he slipped right back into his habits, almost in an attempt to “fit in” with his old buddy. That makes you wonder if his whole direction in life was just a result of wanting to be “cool” and fit in with his friends, and the sense of honor he had toward his friends just kept him stuck in that rut more and more until eventually it caught up with him. The film never truly tells you what Matsunaga actually wanted, and Sanada certainly saw him as a no-hoper, or at least that’s what he claimed. Sanada clearly saw something in Matsunaga, even if he tried to hide behind his “doctor’s duty” excuse as to why he even cared about him. Whether or not this was a specific hope for Matsunaga or if this was a reflection of a general hope within him that people can improve is very much up in the air (it was probably a little of both). It’s telling, considering that, for as benevolent and upstanding as he tries to be, he still has bouts of anger and boozing that he struggles with, not unlike our uncouth yakuza over there. Maybe he saw something of a kindred spirit? It’s also interesting that, throughout the story, Sanada regularly checks up on a teenage girl who also has tuberculosis, and in her case, she actually seems to be getting better and moving forward. Perhaps she’s a reflection on the hope for people to improve, or maybe she’s a message that the next generation can succeed where the current one is failing? It’s worthwhile to note that this film was made in, and is set during, the post-war era of Japan, where everyone was trying to recover from the devastation that had been done to them. The town in the film is run-down, yakuza-controlled, and has a literal cesspool right in its center, from which spews deadly gasses and diseases. Tuberculosis is widespread and people like Sanada are trying everything they can to try and stop it, but one has to wonder if it’s even possible. Can we turn things around or is this just what we’re going to have to live with? The teenage girl is there to show that it is possible for someone to fight back against what’s dragging them down and might be the hope that will keep Sanada going, which Matsunaga ultimately failed to be. This is not a super uplifting movie, though I don’t think it’s the most depressing either. There is some sense of hope at the end of it all, which I can’t spoil, of course. Still, though, it is worth noting its generally more downbeat nature to prepare anyone who might not be ready for that going in. I do think that there is a certain appreciation for more downbeat yet sometimes hopeful stories in the Japanese culture, at least to a certain extent. Watching films like Sansho the Bailiff and even hearing some of the old tales they would tell, there does seem to be an interest in stories that reflect the sometimes cruel and “unfair” nature of reality. Sometimes things don’t work out in the best possible ways, and sometimes people have to suffer greatly to even be able to see a light at the end of a tunnel, and even then, they still might not actually succeed. Now, that’s not to say Japan can’t also be equally over the top and campy as heck, that’s definitely something that they love too, but this is just an observation that I’ve noticed over time. I think overall the film works pretty well and delivers the sort of story that it wants to, though it’s not quite as crafted as the works Kurosawa would make later. For example, the whole relationship between Miyo and Okada basically just drops out of the story after a certain point, which could be a reflection of life, in that sometimes we never end up having to face the people that we think we do, but I’m not sure if the film quite went hard enough into the “life movie” concept to really sell that idea, even for as realistic as it was. Still, on the whole, it’s a good movie, and there’s even some interesting early camera work in it, such as a surprisingly smooth panning shot that pans down, to the left, and up again while seemingly being handheld (this was long before Steadicam). It certainly shows a good eye for cinema from an up-and-coming director.
Ultimately, Drunken Angel is a good movie. I probably wouldn’t recommend it as someone’s first Kurosawa film, but I also wouldn’t dissuade someone from watching it either. It’s a very good movie that might not be the most upbeat, but very much works in what it sets out to do, even if it’s still an “early film” for the director. It is also just cool to see two of his big collaborators, Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune, on screen together for the first time (well, in a Kurosawa film, anyway). They both do a great job, honestly, and help add to the overall experience. Anyway, take a visit to the Drunken Angel, he might be a bit rough around the edges, but he knows what he’s talking about.