Dodes'ka-den

In a slum on the outskirts of Tokyo, a group of people is desperately trying to survive their daily life. A homeless father who dreams of a home with his son, a young girl raped and abused by her uncle. In the midst of all these people, a boy who imagines himself as a streetcar driver. All need dreams and hopes to survive in this miserable environment.

"Dodes'ka-den" was the first film to be shot in color by director Akira Kurosawa. His talent as a painter was thus fully displayed. Made quickly and with few resources, the film can be considered crucial in the director's career. It was a film in which he showed, as he had never done before, his love for the down-and-outs and the forgotten victims of Japan's economic success. It was also a film with a resolutely revolutionary aesthetic. The film's failure on release deeply affected the director, who even attempted suicide and took a long time to get back to filming.