The Lower Depths (1957) on Netflix
An old man dressed as a Buddhist pilgrim rents a bed in a run-down Edo tenement. Sutekichi, a thief, is having an affair with the landlady Osugi while eyeing her sister Okayo.
- Watch on NetflixThis title is not on Netflix right now. Please check back later for updates.
- Watch on NordVPN
- Netflix3.9/5
- IMDb7.2/106,511 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Plot summary
In a run-down Edo tenement, a landlord and his wife rent rooms and beds to gamblers, prostitutes, petty thieves and drunkards who are barely getting by. The landlady's younger sister, Okayo, who helps with the upkeep, brings in an old man named Kahei, dressed as a Buddhist pilgrim, and rents him a bed. He takes on the role of mediator and elder among the tenants, though some suspect his past is not clean. Sutekichi, a thief who calls himself the tenants' leader, is having an affair with the landlady, Osugi, while turning his attention to Okayo, who thinks little of him, and the shift sours his dealings with Osugi. An aging actor in the house can no longer hold on to his lines.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Lower Depths (1957)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Akira Kurosawa assembled his cast from the top performers in Japanese cinema and dress-rehearsed them on set for 60 days, shooting extended takes with multiple cameras to give the film a theatrical effect.
- The tenement set was purposefully filthy, yet Kurosawa walked on it only in his indoor shoes, to the cast and crew's surprise; he said that however dirty it was, it was still "home" to his characters.
