The Kurosawa Century #5: Social Class: The Lower Depths (1957) & Dodes 'ka-den (1970)

The Lower Depths (1957, 125 Minutes) Kurosawa's adaptation of the 1902 Maxim Gorky play The Lower Depths is a character study of people living in a downtrodden section of Tokyo during the 19th century. A work of social realism, the play was well received in Japan and France. The play's an ensemble piece with a range of characters making sense of their low station in life, while lamenting their…