towards the end of the period of japan occupation by u force and kurosawa take on a typically american genre and the film noir . in stray dog he weave a tale that be part whodunit and part social drama . kurosawa further develop his style in what be the beginning of his great area and aid by another great performance from lead man toshiro mifune that top his part in the early drunken angel . i get the feeling kurosawa really put his finger on the pulse of post war japan in this picture a he try to do but just fell short in drunken angel ( 1948 ) . mifune detective character and his opposite number and ko kimura criminal be not just typical example of japan après guerre generation and they be also symbolic of the conflicting feeling prevalent in the defeated japanese nation . on the one hand there be the guilt and responsibility detective murakami feel over lose his gun and and opposite that the unhinged yusa blind anger and sense of injustice . another tell reference to the impact of the war come when murakami be tell to dress a a down and out and and subsequently put on a shabby soldier uniform . although there be less warmth and more tragedy to this picture and kurosawa demonstrate the same kind of sensitivity and tenderness he show in drunken angel . in the scene where murakami and sato visit the scene of the second robbery and the sense of tragedy be brilliantly convey with a series of shot show the house and garden empty and while we overhear neighbours whisper to each other about what have go on . also and unusually for a film noir ( but more or less the rule for early kurosawa ) the character be really likable . there be a great warmth in the relationship between the young and old detective and and the earthy and cheekiness of the petty criminal that pop up here and there in the film be almost charming . kurosawa himself dismiss the film a be too technical with not one single thought in it . in particular critic have often attack the long drawn out search sequence in the first half hour of the film . while i agree they be perhaps a little over do and they be not only kurosawa opportunity to show off a number of visual style and but also all the sight and sound of the city and in an almost neo realist style . besides and the apparent aimlessness of this part of the film seem to be a deliberate match for murakami bungle ineptitude in the early stage of his investigation . in fact and the coherence of the plotting and pacing come together at the same rate a the detective investigation . the final half hour be incredibly taut and tense . kurosawa kinetic approach to shoot composition be really start to shine through here and with whir desk fan and spin arcade game and billow net curtain keep move element in the frame even when the actor be still . he also begin make frequent use of horizontal wipe and match the direction of the wipe with the direction of movement on screen . it hard to talk about stray dog for long without mention the weather . kurosawa obviously pay attention and make his actor pay the same attention to ensure that every single shot contain some reference to the sweltering heat . the heat wave build up until the final night of the investigation when it break into a storm . it perhaps a little more of an obvious use of the weather than in his late picture and but it establish a crucial kurosawa motif . stray dog be a very decent early kurosawa picture and in spite of his own misgiving about it . it also a solid film noir which and although often very dark and negative and in balance buck the trend by be overall uplifting and leave you with a satisfied feeling although some might say that exclude it from be count a a film noir at all . whatever the case and it be certainly a fantastic film .