Dodes'ka-den (1970)

On a Tokyo dump’s shantytown edge, interwoven vignettes follow residents scraping by: a boy who “drives” an imaginary trolley, a homeless father and son designing a dream house, a young woman brutalized at home, drunks, schemers, and saints of small kindnesses. Kurosawa crafts a ragged mosaic of hardship, fantasy, and flickers of grace that keep people moving forward.

Genres: Drama

What to watch after Dodes'ka-den

• The Idiot (1951) — Akira Kurosawa directed both
• I Live in Fear (1955) — Akira Kurosawa directed both
• Rhapsody in August (1991) — Akira Kurosawa directed both
• Maborosi (1995) — Same feel: melancholy, dramatic
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
• Shadows in Paradise (1986) — Same subject: garbage