a a break to my usual diet of crappy low budget cinema and i have be watch foreign film . like many others and my first kurosawa film be the seven samurai . i enjoy his film and but until watch stray dog i think that his work all take place in feudal japan . this be one of kurosawa first film and be set in modern japan . kurosawa regular toshiro mifune play a rookie police officer whose gun be steal on a hot summer day . the officer feel great shame and want to track his stolen gun down . he manage to find a gun dealer in the seedy underworld who handle his colt pistol . from there and he an a veteran detective track down his gun a it be use to commit armed robbery and a murder . the focal point of this film be really mifune character . while track his steal gun and he have to go incognito a a former soldier who be now live a life of desperation ( we learn that his character really live this life before get a job with the police ) . he also learn that the suspect he be track live the same life a he do and but take to a life of crime . the change in post war japan also play a major role in this film . what really catch me be the change from the imperial japanese way to the modern life . this be mostly see through change in dress and music and out look on life . at one point and we see a pick pocket who have trade in her kimono ( what use to be her trademark ) for western style dress . there a mother who be try to control her daughter who be a cabaret dancer and want to have nice thing no matter how she get them . and the list go on . kurosawa use a fantastic montage sequence involve mifune trip into the underworld that would bring tear to fritz lang eye . the film can be gritty and yet sentimental . kurosawa do not like this film because he saw it a a failed effort to make a detective film in the style of french detective novel . i disagree . the film take on it own life and give an insight to westerner about how post war japan feel . fantastic .