Danryû

Shoshimin-eiga... Focuses on the everyday lives of ordinary people. This extraordinary contemporary melodrama was adapted from prominent author, playwright Kunio Kishida, considered to be one of the founders of modern Japanese drama. Fittingly it was the third excellent film from Yasuzô Masumura in a productive debut year, following on from the beautiful Blue Sky Maiden...

Hiashi (Jun Negami) is no doctor, a skilled accountant, he was recruited by the ailing director/owner of a city hospital, the frail man is also the patriarch of a once wealthy upper class family. Resolute Hiashi uses his tough managerial skills to sort out the hospital's faltering finances & lax administration, Hiashi is also entrusted to control the family's dwindling fortune. Reining in waste and inefficiency Hiashi comes into conflict with family members & elements at all levels of the hospital hierarchy. Naturally the handsome newcomer smitten himself on arrival, has attracted competing rivals, generating much romantic intrigue... The Japanese title translates as Stream aka Warm Current, the film in fact opens like a wild torrent, a frantic head spinning introduction eventually dissipates , calming down into an absorbing but still turbulent flow. The story is a multi faceted complex melodrama; family & social issues, morality, romance & marriage.using as the main backdrop a busy hospital setting. Captivating with surprising twists & turns you can never be too sure just how things are going to play out.

Filmed in rich colour with striking camera work, a fabulous & fashionable cast enliven the tale with superb intensely passionate performances. No time for gushy sentimentality, Yasuzô Masumura charges his melodrama with dynamic vigour & great emotional depth. An adventurous storyteller, a consummate craftsman, Danryû is highly entertaining cinematic art. Interesting to note that director Samuel Fuller pays homage by displaying this film's poster in the final moments of The Crimson Kimono (59) ... Highly Recommended Viewing !!

Recognizing that he doesn't have long to live, an elderly gentleman by the name of "Yasuhide Shima" (Toranosuke Ogawa) reaches out to a young businessman named "Yuzo Hibiki" (Jun Negami) for assistance in managing a private hospital he owns which has been suffering from financial mismanagement for a number of years. Along with that, he also asks Hibiki to assume control of his personal finances due to the fact that his adult son "Yasuhiko Shima" (Eiji Funakoshi) has recklessly squandered much of his family's fortune as well. Needless to say, this announcement causes a great deal of concern from a number of people--especially Yasuhiko and those in upper management. Not only that, but having never worked in a hospital environment before, his ability to retain the best employees--while dismissing those who are less productive--is seriously affected. So, to remedy the situation, he secretly asks a nurse by the name of "Gin Ishiwatari" (Hidari Sachiko) to help him in that regard. Flattered by his trust in her, Gin quickly falls in love with Hibiki. For his part, Hibiki seems more interested in his job to notice-and that creates a number of problems later on. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film was a remake of a lengthier movie produced in 1939 under the same title. And because of its condensed nature, coupled with the fact that it was more westernized, it seemed to lack the overall depth of its predecessor. This was especially true when it came to character of Gin Ishiwatari. Even so, I enjoyed this film, for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.