Drunken Angel

(1948)

★ 7.6 IMDb · 320 votes

Genres: Drama

Year: 1948

Runtime: 98 мин

Country: Japan

Director: Акира Куросава

Cast: Такаси Симура, Тосиро Мифунэ, 山本礼三郎, 木暮実千代, 中北千枝子, 千石規子, 笠置シヅ子, 進藤英太郎, 清水将夫, 殿山泰司

Plot

In postwar Tokyo, a blunt, alcohol-soaked doctor diagnoses a swaggering young yakuza with tuberculosis, forging an uneasy bond that’s tested when the gangster’s ruthless former boss returns and drags him back toward the swampy underworld he can’t escape.

After a battle with rival criminals, a small-time gangster is treated by an alcoholic doctor in post-war Japan. The doctor diagnoses the young gangster's tuberculosis, and convinces him to begin treatment for it. The two enjoy an uneasy friendship until the gangster's former boss is released from prison and seeks to take over his gang once again. The ailing young man loses his status as gang boss and becomes ostracised, and eventually confronts his former boss in a battle to the death.