It really is. I started to watch it and I thought: What's the idea? Retarded boy drives some invisible train and someone is dreaming about new house. Is this film about art or what? I didn't watch even half of this movie and I think it sucks. Only touching thing in this movie is that I pity the retarded boy who is so stupid.
shareThis film is a Cinematic masterpiece to me. That's all I have to say.
If only Sensei himself agreed with me on it I'm perfectly happy.
(It was nominated for Oscar so I guess we weren't all alone after all, LOL.)
vivaLuis
http://imdb.com/title/tt0053967/board/thread/97124879
This is indeed masterpiece amongst other Kurosawa's work. What a shame for original poster to think so. If you think there was no point, maybe you should try to watch it with other attitude. Just like Hitchcock said somehow like this; movie doesn't need to have plot.
Or just like jazz, don't demand from it so much, just let it take you where ever it goes.
I think it's one of Kurosawa's best; just a tiny step below The Bad Sleep Well, Red Beard & Yojimbo...
shareI am 16 and I thought I would like this, I like most of the films my pre-college (Summer program at a college, just regular college, just dumbed down a little) and they play great films. This one sucked a lot. Really boring, fell asleep about 5 times. I just didn't get the point.
shareI thought it was wonderful! Definitely Kurosawa's most experimental film. Narratively, it jumps all over the place and visually it's very original. Has the feeling of a surrealist play at times.
I gave it a 7 out of 10. Kurosawa is my favorite director, so for me this is probably the 2nd worst I've seen (Dreams also a 7 but probably a little worse than this). Since I still enjoyed the movie quite a bit, that just says a lot about how great Kurosawa is. I have not seen some of his earlier films and for some reason haven't gotten around to Rhapsody in August or The Idiot yet, but I've seen the majority and Dodes'ka-den and Dreams are the worst, but still good movies. Kurosawa at his worst is better than most filmmakers at their best.
share
Not the worst. Just different.
I think about 70% of the film is brilliant. It isn't thoroughly great like many others he made but it also isn't his worst.
I think there are many ideas.
Often much of the background looks like artwork. The colors are over the top and almost cartoonish. Is this meant to show that the people in the film are the only things that are truly real in the universe of this film? The rest of the world is what is a fabrication. Or is the rest of the world so far away, so untouchable to these people that they view it as we would view the surface of Venus. Before our eyeballs melted of course. But you know, like a far away world with the view distorted through space and time.
I also liked how Zushi (best child actor of all time?) as he was operating the train you could hear actual sounds....almost as if it were intended to be a real train that we can't see because we are "normal." There were many little touches that spark thoughts.
Wait what was I saying? I guess I appreciate movies that make me ponder things. I think the majority of the characters in the movie should have been killed.
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While not his best, it's not as bad as its reputation makes it out to be. It stands on very much on its own compared to his previous work. In a sense it's more of an abstract film.
shareat least it's not as preachy as some of his later films like Dreams and Rhapsody in August (although it is a similarly "socially conscious" film). There is at least one excellent story in the film. The beggar and his son imagining a dream house together is quite gripping. The boy who imagines he is a train conductor is also good. The rest of the film (most of the film, unfortunately) I find very unappealing and hard to get through. I give Kurosawa credit for trying something new, however.
shareI haven't seen every Kurosawa film, but "Dodes'ka-den" is easily my favorite of the six or seven I have - a true masterpiece on every level.
Of course I can understand why this particular movie wouldn't appeal to a lot of people, though.
I know this isn't popular but I think Red Beard was way too over-rated, a real yawner that even Dodes ka Den couldn't waken.
shareI disagree. This actually my favorite film of his. Its beautiful and well done. Dont watch it looking for something to happen or trying to get a story out of it, just waatch whats happening, its a story about depression and surviving it, its a reality nobody likes to deal with. And the film was very well shot and written, i dont know how you could say its his worst unless you just like samurai action and dont appreciate anything else.
shareYeah, like you see, old topic and I was dumber back then.. But I still think it's his worst but not bad. And actually I like more Kurosawa's modern movies like High and Low, The Bad Sleep Well and Ikiru. Dersu Uzala is also one of his true masterpieces.
"It's All in the Game."
My Vote History: imdb.com/user/ur10932798/ratings
The worst Kurosawa movie is the second Sanshiro Sugata. It's the only movie he made that is actually a bad movie. He admitted as much himself after it was made.
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