I watched Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) last night, and while it doesn't have the gravity of Rashomon (1950) or Seven Samurai (1954), it is still a very good film. Set in post-war Japan, the film explores human nature, and society's influence on one's decisions. Several great scenes explore the poverty and chaos of occupied Japan, and there exists the sense that one must participate in soft crime to stay afloat. In that, it reminded me of the blurred line of the law in Casablanca (1942). Kurosawa keeps his good guys good and his bad guys bad, but he calls into question the circumstances that determine the bad ones' descent.
Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura star in this Kurosawa film as well, and they bookend the plot perfectly as rookie cop and cunning, soft-touch detective. Uncredited is the sweltering heat that plays an dominant role in keeping the characters agitated. The film also shows Kurosawa's interest in the American pulp detective novel; a genre he would revisit with more polish and success in High and Low (1963).
Definitely worth watching.
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