Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

AhmedD-8 The Lower Depths(1957) by Akira Kurozawabased on Maxim Gorky play, The Lower Depths seems simulated and stragy at the beginning but Akira manages to enliven it during the 2h 4mins progressively. Actors and actresses are all in the high level in acting. the combination of the editing, design of the place where the movie had filmed, the Intensity and the aesthetic of dialogues contributed too much in making this masterpiece.This piece of art has illuminated on one of the main Kurosawa philosophies "realism in cinema" that can highlights on the injustice that societies live, So according to that The anger and the greed in the movie are just A reflection of the absence of justice, equity and ethics in societies.Finally, this movie is not the right place to start Akira Filmography cuz you'll not feel ease to understand Akira's Philosophy also after watching this movie i can, without hesitation, rank it as second favourite Akira's movie after Throne of Blood.

WILLIAM FLANIGAN Viewed on DVD. Restoration = nine (9) stars. Humor, especially humor on film (which, of course, can not be modernized like a stage play), is often lost between generations. This is compounded when the transfer is attempted between cultures. Here we have a "poster-film" for this type of failure. Digging a bit deeper, more times than naught, Kurosawa's attempts at (or what he interprets as) humor come across as simply silly (if not plain ludicrous). The characters are varied, but the actors (you've seen most of them before and will see most of them again in other Kurosawa films) lack sufficient direction in this movie to enable them to elicit much in the way of empathy from the audience. Who cares what they do and what is done to them? (Hammy acting doesn't help matters.) The film is based on a classic stage play of the same name and, lacking much in the way of camera dynamics, looks like it was mostly shot on a performing stage (although it was not). Subtitles are a bit long and taxing. The film "score" is nonexistent. Not recommended without first ingesting a hefty dose of caffeine. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

Claudio Carvalho A group of worthless people lives in a slum, including a sick terminal woman with her drunkard husband; a gambler; a pilgrim; a former samurai and an actor. The prostitute Okayo (Kyôko Kagawa) disputes the love of the thief Sutekichi (Toshirô Mifune) with her landlady and sister Osugi (Isuzu Yamada) that is married with Rokubei (Ganjiro Nakamura), leading to a tragedy.I have watched most of Akira Kurosawa's films and the unpleasant "Donzoko" is the only one that I really did not like. It is quite impossible to write a plot summary of the annoying, pointless and dull story. The theatrical screenplay is tiresome and too long despite the good acting and the histrionic Kyôko Kagawa and in the end this is a lesser work of this outstanding director. My vote is four. Title (Brazil): "Ralé" ("The Rabble")

Mark D. Brown First, I must provide the obligatory warning that this film is absolutely not a good film for introducing a viewer to the power of Kurosawa. Nevertheless, this film is one of his most well-crafted ensemble films. The performance of Bokuzen Hidari as the wandering pilgrim or priest Kahei is his pinnacle in Kurosawa's films. After his comic-relief roles in the more well known films "Ikiru" and "Seven Samurai", this role is Hidari's chance to show his own version of wisdom and authority. Similarly, Kamatari Fujiwara's powerfully sympathetic performance as the alcoholic actor is another surprising demonstration by an actor who had, hitherto, been cast in unsympathetic- even adversarial roles in previous Kurosawa films. As one comes to expect from Isuzu Yamada, her character is a feisty and commanding presence that drives the plot along.Toshiro Mifune, however, was not the best choice for his role as the petty thief- try as he might to look like a immature and puerile common criminal , the false swagger fails to hide the actor's inherent dignity. Nevertheless, his energy and effort still make his performance believable- if incongruous. In general, however, his unsuitability for his role is the only significant snag in an otherwise fluid and natural performance on the part of all the actors. Also, the sets, as one would expect for Kurosawa, are meticulously detailed, well-lit, and authentic-seeming.The story- based on the Maxim Gorky play, however, is not that compelling. In part, I think, it is my reaction to a socialistic morality play brought to the silver screen. Also, however, Kurosawa has tried too hard and has polished the performance and settings for too long. As well and smoothly as the actors interact, as convincing they are in their roles, their performance just does not lead anywhere dramatically. However, I saw the Jean Renoir version- a much less refined effort, in my opinion- and had much the same reaction, concluding that the story, itself, and not Kuroasawa's over-controlling treatment is what hampered my engagement.In spite of that... That is to say... In spite of the fact that the movie's story is not very compelling for me at all, I still have high regard for the film because the acting performances are so solid and engaging. For that reason, I strongly urge devotees of Kurosawa's films to check this movie out at some point while keeping in mind that it remains less than a sum of its parts.