The Lower Depths (1957) Review - Dylan McCully

Written by Dylan McCully, 10/24/22

Dylan McCully's Cinema: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls521125877/

The Lower Depths isn't a tightly wound movie. Being based off of a play of the same name, The Lower Depths mostly takes place in a rundown living complex where we hear the bitter homeless people that live there suffer. There's no epic formation leading to an epic battle like in Seven Samurai, nor is there as many betrayals and scheming as there is in Throne of Blood. Toshiro Mifune plays Sutekichi, a thief who is having an affair with the landlady, Osugi (played by Isuzu Yamada). Osugi's sister, Okayo, doesn't really like Sutekichi but Sutekichi is starting to like her over Osugi. The rest of the film centers around a murder plot involving Osugi's husband and the relationships that spiral out of control as the drama pursues.

Coming right between two samurai epics, The Lower Depths feels a bit off in the Kurosawa catalogue. There are a lot of side characters that I didn't mention, none of which I found to be that interesting. From a production standpoint the film is obviously great, it's Kurosawa in his prime after all, but from a narrative standpoint the film is too isolating for the viewers to be as invested as they should be. Although it still is a pretty great movie, The Lower Depths lacks the intensity and buildup of Kurosawa's other films around this time, but still provides a technically sound and well acted drama. 6/10

Akira Kurosawa Ranking:

1. Seven Samurai (1954) - 10/10

2. Ikiru (1952) - 9/10

3. Rashomon (1950) - 9/10

4. Throne of Blood (1957) - 8/10

5. Stray Dog (1949) - 7.5/10

6. I Live In Fear (1955) - 7/10

7. Drunken Angel (1948) - 6.5/10

8. The Lower Depths (1957) - 6/10