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 !!
