Red Beard (Akahige) (1965)

dir. Akira Kurosawa
writ. Masato Ide, Hideo Oguni, Ryuzo Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, novel by Shugoro Yamamoto
feat. Toshiro Mifune, Yuzo Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan, Miyuki Kuwano, Kyoko Kagawa, Tatsuyoshi Ehara, Terumi Niki, Akemi Nigishi, Yoshitaka Zushi

Coincidental timing brings a worthy sparring partner for Dogville to my small screen with Kurosawa's Red Beard. Mifune plays Dr. Kyojo Niide, a 19th century doctor committed to the poor whom he serves at his rigidly run clinic. Dr. Noboru Yasumoto (Kayama), a proud young doctor feels he's being punished in his appointment to assist Niide, ready for the glory and big bucks of serving as the shogun's personal physician. This common and long-winded setup introduces what at first appears to be a tedious lesson in the value of all humankind and the trials and troubles of the poor. However, the mood quickly shifts into that of a ghost story inhabited by the living, the sick, the healing and the dead.

Illness takes an ominous form in the guise of the madwoman (Kagawa), a multiple murderer, more prisoner than patient, a living spirit of the clinic with a tragic past worthy of sympathy despite her persistent compulsion to kill. Sahachi (Yamazaki), the dying elder, on the other hand, is second only to Niide himself in popularity and good intentions, though his dark secrets well up in a confession that reveal sad sordid origins to his behavior. People are complex creatures, not to be judged too harshly or easily. Even Niide misbehaves, shaking down the wealthy, vaguely threatening blackmail, and violently beating those who would threaten the health of a young girl. He criticizes himself most harshly, his tolerance reserved only for those he helps.

Niide's second guessing and additional vignettes exploring a variety of health problems and their sources bring great life and heart to the story. And the final return to a sweet tale with a predictable resolution can't diminish the power of these rich human moments. Ultimately Kurosawa's wealth of emotional depth tips the scales, posing a more convincing argument in defense of the oppressed and the wretched than von Trier presses against them. Though I definitely recommend them as a pair when you have about 6 hours to spare.