Compare and contrast

The other feature film I watched in the recent past was Shizukanaru ketto. Or, in English, The Quiet Duel. It was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a comedy. But I couldn't help but compare it to Stranger Than Fiction. Mostly because of the different ways in which the movies resolved themselves; this one followed through in a better manner consistent with the plot and characters even though that meant a film that was probably not as commercially appealing. Jump into the details. (Minor spoilers ahead.)

The movie opens in a field hospital in World War II, which surprised me since I didn't think that a movie made in Japan in the 1950's would show the war so soon after its conclusion. They did not, however, really show much of the war except to show that the doctors were operating on soldiers. Kurosawa does a good job of showing the dedication and good heart of our hero with minimal exposition. During the operation in the opening scene Toshiro Mifune becomes infected with syphilis from a patient.

After a few brief scenes showing the testing and realization of his malady, the movie jumps to a period about 5 or 6 years later after the war has ended and takes up the tale at the small clinic being run by the hero and his father (played by the amazing Takashi Shimura). Mifune hides his condition from everyone for a time, but the news slowly comes out to certain people as folks start to wonder why he refuses to marry his sweetheart after both of them have waited and been loyal to each other for the 6 years of war that separated them.

Tensions mount further when a dance hall girl who has gotten pregnant out of wedlock and is now being trained as a nurse in the clinic finds out about Mifune's condition and thinks him a hypocrite for his attitude toward her. Mifune also ends up running across the soldier who infected him and discovers that the man is married and his wife is expecting their first child.

I won't give away any more details, but suffice it to say, the movie doesn't contrive an ending the way Stranger Than Fiction did. The ending is neither tragic nor happy, but rather the right ending for the story and consistent with the characters. This movie joins the long list of Kurosawa films that I would recommend to anyone who has an interest and liking for cinema beyond the latest summer action epic or mindless comedy.

I've seen 14 films directed by Kurosawa and every single one has been a good movie worth watching more than once. In chronological order:

The Quiet Duel
Stray Dog
Scandal
Rashomon
Ikiru
Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
High and Low
Red Beard
Kagemusha
Ran