Amazon.com video review:
Made in 1970, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best
Foreign
Film in 1972. This is Kurosawa's first color film, and there seems to be an
almost psychedelic overlay to his production palette.
The story revolves around a collection of characters held together only by
the frayed thread of poverty. Rokkuchan (Yoshitaka Zushi), a teenager with
the mind of a boy, is obsessed with trolley cars. He draws them from every
angle in vivid colors. His despondent mother (Kin Sugai) hangs them
lovingly on the walls and windows of their simple home.
Every morning Rokkuchan goes out to his imaginary trolley car and makes his
way through the surrounding slums. His neighbors include a humble man with
a terrible limp and an unforgiving wife, two couples who color-coordinate
their husband-swapping, and a sad derelict man with an adoring but doomed
little boy. During the day, father and son pass the time building a dream
house in their minds. At night they sleep in an abandoned car.
While visually compelling, the film lacks connection between the characters,
which leaves the viewer feeling disjointed and somehow lessens the emotional
impact
of these tragic stories. But as a slice-of-life look at how people maintain
simple dignities in the face of great hardship, it is definitely a film
worth seeing. --Luanne Brown
