The Lower Depths
In an Edo-period Japanese slum, desperate residents pursue love, dignity, and escape while landlords and social class keep them trapped together.
Overview
In a world where dreams clash with harsh realities, hope flickers in the shadows.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- sardonic
- philosophical
- classic film night
- japanese cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard Kurosawa’s adaptation as a powerful, formally distinctive ensemble drama with lasting stature in Japanese cinema.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film gathers thieves, workers, a former samurai, an actor, landlords, and other residents in one impoverished dwelling.
The residents’ poverty and dependence on landlords shape their relationships, ambitions, and conflicts.
Residents dream of escape or accept their circumstances while conversations dwell on fate, suffering, and the value of hope.
The Japanese slum dwelling functions as the dominant stage for arguments, romances, manipulation, and communal observation.
Films like The Lower Depths, and why
Ikiru
shared japanese period setting, ensemble social drama, class conflict, and philosophical melancholy
Throne of Blood
shared kurosawa authorship, historical japanese setting, moral tension, and intense character interplay
The Last Laugh
shared claustrophobic ensemble structure, social marginalization, and bleak yet humane drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Akira Kurosawa
- Release Date
- 1957-10-01
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (146)
Cast
- Toshirō Mifune
- Isuzu Yamada
- Kyōko Kagawa
- Ganjirō Nakamura II
- Minoru Chiaki
- Kamatari Fujiwara
- Akemi Negishi
- Nijiko Kiyokawa
- Kōji Mitsui
- Eijirō Tōno
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Criterion Channel
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Lower Depths about?
- In an Edo-period Japanese slum, desperate residents pursue love, dignity, and escape while landlords and social class keep them trapped together.
- What is The Lower Depths like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Lower Depths as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Lower Depths violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Lower Depths as mild.
- What did critics think of The Lower Depths?
- Critics broadly regard Kurosawa’s adaptation as a powerful, formally distinctive ensemble drama with lasting stature in Japanese cinema.
- Which films are like The Lower Depths?
- Films with a similar feel include Ikiru, Throne of Blood, and The Last Laugh.
- How long is The Lower Depths?
- The Lower Depths runs 125 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Lower Depths?
- In United States, The Lower Depths streams on Criterion Channel.
