Toshiro Mifune's brilliant performance as an embittered factory owner at war with his family owes much to traditional Japanese theatre. The family want him committed to a lunatic asylum in what at first appears a dispute over succession and family wealth. But it emerges that the old man's crankiness and ill-temper is not simply based on a dislike of his mostly lazy and grasping offspring. He is driven by a fear of nuclear bombs (remember this was made less than 10 years after Hiroshima) and his plan to dispose of the business (a foundry, symbol of post-war reconstruction) and move to a farm in Brazil seems more like the action of someone who wants to spare the family, including his illegitimate children, and escape the horror. He is prepared to go to any length, even sacrificing himself and the business in the process. It is a film about a family blown apart by insecurity and fear, made into a gripping tale by a top director and an accomplished cast, as well as giving another twist to one of Kurosawa's constant themes - how the impact of outside forces on traditional values pushes Japan closer to chaos and madness.
