The Idiot (1951) - Akira Kurosawa 

Well just as I had a brief run of Ozu (a run that's not over btw), I decided to double dip on Dostoyevsky. First was Crime and Punishment, and then this film which seems so extremely well suited for Kurosawa. Very humanistic in its approach, except a little bleak at film's end, which isn't too far off for most of Kurosawa's work. It had been ages since I'd seen a film of his, and this was a delight. Sandwiched in between Rashomon and Ikiru the film doesn't get a particularly large amount of recognition, but I would say its certainly worthy company.

Kurosawa has appropriated the recent war into the novel giving it a contemporary feel, and that was the leading cause to the main characters "Idiocy". Kurosawa also borrowed frequent Ozu leading lady Setsuko Hara who plays the proud love interest of nearly everyone in the film. Kameda (Masayuki Mora) seems to embody all of the inherent good that Kurosawa seems so willing to believe is out there. A man who is far from perfect, who is taking his second chance at life and trying to be kinder. He is contrasted obviously with Toshiro Mifune's character who is largely bad, but with his own good streak. No bad guy is ever completely evil in a Kurosawa film, and this is no different.