'The Quiet Duel' is a second collaboration between Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune after 'Drunken Angel'. This time Mifune got to play the doctor. The film occasionally tends to grow overly melodramatic, but somehow that doesn't ruin the movie's immaculate pacing and more subtle themes underneath. Between the melodrama, there are plenty of quiet yet powerful moments (the scene at the beginning of the movie where the nurse tries to wake exhausted surgeon), and subtle humor (father and son trying to offer each other a cigarette and then a light). Mifune excels as Dr. Kyoji Fujisaki, a man who looks calm and determined, but inside there is a rough duel between the conscience and the desire that the man has never felt.
Most of the Western audiences know Kurosawa/Mifune collaborations through their Samurai flicks, but 'The Quiet Duel' truly shows the versatility of these two artists. This is definitely not the best Kurosawa has put out but despite the melodrama the movie is captivating - cinematography, pacing, and of course, the acting is all superb.
Eight-star rating might be a little much (to be honest, the film is worth 7 stars), but I have to give it the 8 because rarely medical dramas can keep me nailed to the screen. Plus, there can be something to be learned from Dr.Fujisaki.
Most of the Western audiences know Kurosawa/Mifune collaborations through their Samurai flicks, but 'The Quiet Duel' truly shows the versatility of these two artists. This is definitely not the best Kurosawa has put out but despite the melodrama the movie is captivating - cinematography, pacing, and of course, the acting is all superb.
Eight-star rating might be a little much (to be honest, the film is worth 7 stars), but I have to give it the 8 because rarely medical dramas can keep me nailed to the screen. Plus, there can be something to be learned from Dr.Fujisaki.