What is the meaning of life? The joys and hardships are defined by the most intricate interactions. A chance meeting or the recognization of a face. Yet, how are we to get through when life seems unbearable and every inch you give is yanked back a foot. Where do you turn when your life is on the line, in more ways than one?
What is the meaning of life? The joys and hardships are defined by the most intricate interactions. A chance meeting or the recognization of a face. Yet, how are we to get through when life seems unbearable and every inch you give is yanked back a foot. Where do you turn when your life is on the line, in more ways than one?
Drunken Angel Part 1
Gabby Browne: [00:00:00] This podcast is an association with Spotlight Studios, a family of podcasts driven to create unique, one of a kind content. If you have any interest in learning more, please visit spotlightstudiospodcast. com.
What is the meaning of life? Joys and hardships are defined by the most intricate interactions. A chance meeting or the recognition of a face. Yet, how are we to get through when life seems unbearable and every inch you give is yanked back afoot? Three, two, one. I'm Gabby Brown. Here with Aaron Couser, hello, and Jonathan Van Sickle, hi Gabby, and this is the Limelight by Spotlight [00:01:00] Studios.
Well, friends and foes, the doctor is in, and he will make you feel like shit regardless of age, gender, or occupation. At least he'll treat you for tuberculosis, though. I mean, how else is the drunken angel supposed to approach life but from a cynical angle when the world proves him right time and time again?
I mean, a rational approach is the best medicine for life.
Jonathan VanSickle: This is a defining Akira Kurosawa film. It's his eighth release, which in his filmography is very early. This guy made movies from the early 40s to I think the late 80s. Insane how long his career spanned. That's the biggest thing that like makes this movie kind of groundbreaking and revolutionary.
It was done in such a [00:02:00] crazy time in Japan's history and with such strict regulation. The way it came out and the way it was released. Just for him to make this kind of statement just on Japanese culture without saying anything about the war, having a plot of its own, a voice of its own, something purely Japanese, it was, it was really, really unique for that era.
That's one of the reasons I picked this. This was the beginning of his relationship with Toshiro Mifune. who plays Matsunaga, his first of 16 films. He also has Takashi Shinara, plays our doctor. The way he tells the story and the way he has a lesson coming from a wise teacher, a wise, relatable teacher. I think that was established in this movie.
And you see it many times throughout the rest of his movies, even coming from this same exact person, the same, the same kind of tone, the same kind of tongue in cheek, honest truth.
Gabby Browne: Oh
Jonathan VanSickle: man, I love, I love [00:03:00] the beginning of this movie because it just sets, it just sets the stage so perfectly.
This whole movie takes place around this Yakuza ruled slum. We start off with the reflection of this slum in this swamp. This disgusting, swampy cesspool of a pond. And, uh, this is kind of the metaphor for a lot of things we're gonna see in this movie. This isn't a clean situation. This isn't a nice setting.
This is a very dark corner of, uh, what is post war Japan at this point. We hear a guitar
Gabby Browne: player. I really liked that opening choreography from the pond and then they turn to the ladies. One's smoking, one stretches, and they all move at the exact same time. Looks like it's about to be like a dance number, and then the guitar starts playing.
You kind of zoom
Aaron Couser: in on him, and then you see the camera almost judder at first, but then go through the pond, and [00:04:00] you see the reflection. You see the house, but then you see the reflection of the house in the pond. Right there, visually, you think of Kurosawa. He's trying to make an immediate statement.
You're gonna see two paths. You're gonna see one that's real, and then one's in this kind of muddy reflection. You know there's gonna be some kind of duality with this movie. There's always
Gabby Browne: a right and a wrong path to take. You can go the path of righteousness, or you can go into the dirt, the muck. Have fun in that swamp.
Jonathan VanSickle: Kurosawa, the way he writes, he doesn't just write a script. I mean, he writes. It's the camera movements, the blocking, all of these things were very intentional and you see it a lot in this movie. Like you said, Erin, we go from a reflection up to a guitar player to a turn, now three new characters in a foreground to a whole different camera move.
It's really just beautiful the way he can tell a story without saying a word. My
Gabby Browne: catalog of 1940s movies. specifically is not very large, so I don't have [00:05:00] anything really to compare this to, but I imagine it was very monumental for the time in the sense of cinematography and things along those lines.
Jonathan VanSickle: I don't have too many either, but there's a reason this one sticks out and I love it
Aaron Couser: desperately.
Even though it's like 60 years old. Those shots, whoa, 80 years old.
Jonathan VanSickle: That's crazy.
Gabby Browne: It's not 2000 anymore.
Aaron Couser: Those shots still stand up. They have intelligence behind them. They have emotion behind it through time. Like that can only be done by visionary people.
You see kind of a couple of thuggy guys.
Gabby Browne: Yeah. They're rolling up. Yeah. Smoking. Six
Aaron Couser: hanging out, uh, outside the doctor's office. Mm-hmm. , and in inside we see our first two protagonists. Would you call them protagonists? I'd
Jonathan VanSickle: say they're both kind of antagonists really, but they're just our two. There are two main focuses of the film.
You know, this is really where the bulk of it happens here is in this [00:06:00] relationship between these two men, I would
Gabby Browne: call them protagonists in the same way we call Walter White and Jesse from Breaking Bad Protagonist. They're not great people, but my god, I guess we're here for their story, you know? Like, it's not someone that you, like, necessarily root for anytime throughout the movie.
No. Like, both of them are just ballbuster assholes. Like, honestly.
Aaron Couser: We've got Drunken Angel, Dr. Sonata, an older, rugged, weathered doctor, a wise man, and then we have, looks like a gangster, maybe a head gangster named Matsunaga. Matsunaga is obviously in some pain. He's hurt himself, and the doctor, who you would think would be kind of nervous around a crime lord, if you will, is very strict and blunt, and to the point, and telling him exactly what to do, sit down, let's see the hand, what happened.
Gabby Browne: I slammed that [00:07:00] in the door. I hit that just with the door. It must have been a nail too, you know, cause there's a hole in my hand. Um, hmm. That doesn't make a lot of sense, huh? He's not quite buying that. No, I wouldn't buy it either.
Jonathan VanSickle: Well, and you can see immediately, yeah, the distrust and, and how he's not buying any of it and he's kind of rough with them, you know, the way he's handling the wound, the way he's cleaning them up.
Gabby Browne: Multiple times throughout this movie, literally in my head said, doctor don't care. Doctor don't give a shit. He's honey badger. He doesn't care. This is my office. Yeah, gangster, you think you can do anything here? I'm already drunk, and I'm treating you. The middle of the night, yeah, I'm wasted. There's nothing else, like, there's no lower point that we can go, so try me.
There's
Aaron Couser: a shot that Kurosawa uses right here that's very important, but it's kind of forgettable in a way. It's when the door is constantly, is constantly opening and shutting, and you see... Matsunaga sitting at his seat and the doctor is getting [00:08:00] frustrated and it's forgettable. You don't think about it until maybe later on.
This is the point where the door is still open for Matsunaga to make a decision to be better and to heal himself and maybe choose the right path. Make right decisions. And the door slowly keeps shutting and opening. It's very important that the movie opens on the decision. And it's
Gabby Browne: also funny too that the doctor's like.
Ah, I'm gonna just get this trash can and force it open. That's also pointed in the sense that Old Doc is gonna definitely be a little forceful in this situation. The doors are opening and closing. Oh yeah, I wanna make sure the door is open so everyone can see your ass in here. Like, you just got shot and you came to me, and I'm gonna make sure that everyone can hear me treating you right now, you little, you little baby.
Aaron Couser: Starts doing surgery, pulling out the metal nails, but turns out actually it's a bullet. It's [00:09:00] a
Gabby Browne: funny
Aaron Couser: looking nail. Guy got shot in the hand. Gotta be pretty painful. He's
Gabby Browne: just messing around. It wasn't a big deal. deal. Please, doctor, don't take it seriously. You go around, you ask the town people about me, everyone's gonna tell you I'm the coolest cat.
Everyone's gonna know. So, so just go ask around about me. How does that sound? He's a reputable person. Yeah, everybody loves Matsunaga. In the market, people love me. Yeah, it freaking Just go ask. Just go ask around. Your favorite people will know me.
Jonathan VanSickle: So as he's digging around and he finds the bullet, Matsunaga is, is coughing quite a bit.
Gabby Browne: Oh, wow, I love that you're not using any pain medication to help me, like, get this bullet out of my arm or hand. And then he, like, hands him a shot and then immediately starts, Eh, eh, eh,
Aaron Couser: eh, eh. He refuses to give Matsunaga painkillers.
He wants Matsunaga to [00:10:00] feel as much discomfort with this as possible. Matsunaga at this point says the doctor looks after guys like me. You know that at this point now that the doctor is used to these kind of thuggy characters that come with these wounds. being in conflict, and he goes, I always make it a policy to rip off deadbeats.
So, I mean, he's just going for it. I mean, he's not scared. He's not nervous. He's not here to accommodate these drug lord Yakuza criminals.
Gabby Browne: I'll look out for you guys. But I'm not gonna make it fun by any means, you know? You still have to, like, give me the money. This is my job. I will treat you the same way I will treat a nice little high school school girl.
I
Jonathan VanSickle: think this is where we enter the point where we realize, Oh, okay. We're not gonna really like either of these characters, huh? Nope! This
Gabby Browne: is gonna be so much fun! I haven't just had this cold for just a hot minute now. Just can't shake it. Cannot shake this cold and... [00:11:00] Doctors like, well, it's because you live a high risk lifestyle.
Like you're going to be introduced to things that will make you sick or get you sick. And, uh, that doesn't sound like just a cold. So, um, are you scared? Are
Jonathan VanSickle: you scared? It's like you want me to do a little checkup and tell you everything's going to be all right. Yeah. Set your mind at ease. Get
Gabby Browne: that stethoscope out.
Get that stethoscope.
Aaron Couser: Well, he did not like being called scared. No, no, he did not. Matsunaga, you see right now, you see his pride. You see his overall pride. I'm not scared of anything. Nothing frightens me. I'm Matsunaga. And he immediately throws a cigarette at the doctor in rage. He
Gabby Browne: just is a act then think kind of person, for sure.
It just shows how immature he truthfully is. Immaturity and gangster lords don't really... go together very well. It's usually a little bit of a disaster for the most part. Historically does not work well, but Doc gets out that [00:12:00] stethoscope and he's listening to homeboy's lungs. He's like, mm, yeah, and then he gets to one spot specifically.
And he looks down. He's like, you need to go get some x rays. Why? You know why, man? Like, read between the lines. He needs the doctor to tell him. He wants to hear it. Yeah, you got a big asshole in your lung, buddy.
Aaron Couser: And he's angry. He does not like the fact that he could be dying.
Jonathan VanSickle: Well, and the way the doctor is telling it to him, I mean, come on, the bedside manner.
I know, my god. You gotta, you gotta. It's
Gabby Browne: literally awful. We knew he wasn't gonna sugarcoat shit with this. Gangster guy he already ripped open his arm with different tweezers and was just like blah blah blah blah blah getting in there He's not gonna sugarcoat anything with this guy. He also recognizes that his life is a hard lifestyle and the only way that he's gonna see or respect anything is through harshness too.
Get to it, buddy. That's true. Absolutely. Go get that
Aaron Couser: x ray. And I think that's what he [00:13:00] responds to as well. Barking orders. That harsh tone back towards him. He has respect for that, even though he does attack him. We're now physically attacking him, like choking him.
Gabby Browne: Seriously, like my god, like who is this toddler throwing a fit right now?
Seriously, you go to this man for medical attention and he tells you something you don't want to hear? My god, if I attacked a doctor every time I was told something I didn't want to hear, I would, uh, be in prison, so. I don't know the relationship in 1940s Japan between the common people and medical attention.
I don't know if it would be preferred to go to like a specific healer instead of like someone that is practicing quote unquote Western medicine.
Jonathan VanSickle: I think in this day and age, especially in a neighborhood like this. Yeah. And I mean, we see the way this doctor is. He's such an asshole. And he's drinking all the time.
Gabby Browne: He's the doctor that the sketchy people go [00:14:00] to,
Jonathan VanSickle: heard. And we're, we're here seeing it
Aaron Couser: with these two guys. It looks like it's it for the doctor. But Mio, the nurse, comes in and breaks up the altercation. Matsunaga sees her. Composes himself and just kind of runs out of the office with his two thuggy friends.
Sonata turns to the nurse and explains that even though he has tuberculosis, he cares about that he has tuberculosis and he isn't quite lost yet. He still has a conscience where a lot of the thugs who end up getting tuberculosis based off that crazy lifestyle they live, they don't care. They don't care about their soul.
They don't care about their humanity anymore. He still cares enough to come to the doctor. He still cares enough to possibly fix it.
Jonathan VanSickle: Well, you see, you see his passion when he's told about it. He cares enough that he's getting pissed off. I think that's really what Sonata is saying here is that he's like, Hey, man, you know, at least he cares.
He might have thrown me on the table. He might have been angry. He might have been acting like a complete child. But
Gabby Browne: [00:15:00] boy, still got at least a little bit of
Jonathan VanSickle: a soul left. Yeah, I love that kind of mentality that we see throughout this movie.
Aaron Couser: Because if you care that much still to attack a doctor, it means you're wrestling with yourself.
You're wrestling inside yourself and you haven't given up quite yet. Exactly. Where he's probably seen many of these thuggy guys get tuberculosis and then just accept it and take it and know they're gonna die. Because
Gabby Browne: honestly, it kind of was a death sentence. Apparently not for the people he treated.
Could be a death sentence untreated. And a lot of people went untreated. They talk about the hot girl that came into the office. That's the first slight recognition of
Mio. It's a new day. It's a new dawn. It's a new life. And the kids are playing in the puddle. The bubbling
Jonathan VanSickle: swamp.
Gabby Browne: The bubbling swamp. They're barefoot. They ain't got shirts on. They're looking like some true hoodlum street rats out there. Hey [00:16:00] you
Aaron Couser: Didn't you play in the garbage pool when you were eight years old?
Gabby Browne: Unfortunately, Northwest Kansas doesn't have a lot of garbage pools. We are mostly just climbing trees and stuff. But if the garbage pool was available to me, I'm sure I probably would have had to be told to not play in it. They're goddamn kids. What else are they supposed to do? You know? Yeah.
Aaron Couser: There's not much really to do
Gabby Browne: for the kids.
Exactly. And this is also the first time that even the kids know this guy's messed up. You're drunk, dude. Like, we don't want to listen to you. You're literally like the gangster's doctor. Have
Jonathan VanSickle: respect. But I think also what we see here too is that no matter what, Sonata cares. Yeah, he does. Sonata deeply cares.
He cannot walk by these kids and not say something. And even after he's ran most of them off, you know, there's one who's behind. Well, he
Gabby Browne: forgot his hat. He has to come back for his hat. And he, and, and Sonata like pops. over there and grabs the hat off and the [00:17:00] kids like comes over and he's like, Hey, I remember you.
I treated you for a tummy ache last week. I know that belly button anywhere. And I'm like, okay, timeout. I can also tell that this man is drunk because he can't recognize the face of the child, but very has definitely has a recognizable belly button. Apparently pops the hat on the little kid.
Aaron Couser: It shows kindness to him, even though they called him a drunk and yelled at him, you see the sourness, but now you're just kind of seeing that sweetheart that he has as well.
He does
Gabby Browne: care, he's just not very nice about it. No, he's not. He's just a ball buster. He does probably know better, but it's like, thank you for your unsolicited advice again, drunk old man. I appreciate it.
Aaron Couser: Before Matsunaga told the doctor you need to ask around the market people know me there He took that advice.
You would think that this would be kind of a throwaway Patient he's thinking about him now that [00:18:00] altercation he had with him is stuck with him And now he actually wants to go to the market and follow up to see about who he is Well, and he
Jonathan VanSickle: wants to get paid.
Aaron Couser: Yeah, actually, that's probably more true. We got to remember who this doctor is.
Bro
Gabby Browne: literally just walked out. He attacked me and then walked out of the office like time out real, real quick. I treated you and you didn't even pay me. I need my monies. But
Jonathan VanSickle: you're completely right, Erin. And I love this scene of him walking through the market because it really just sets up the whole vibe of this town, of this city.
Aaron Couser: All you do is see life. You're seeing people walking through the market. You're seeing people hanging out. All their clothes and in the background. It's a believable world that he's really created here in a very simplistic story, which draws you in. There's life happening all over the place. It's because of the movement that Kurosawa directs with.
It's awesome. And
Jonathan VanSickle: you just kind of made me think of this too, because this is another classic thing that he does is the use of light as well. Like the way you go from like the bright market and you, [00:19:00] you really see shadows, a lot of shadows. Like when you go into the bar, you have a lot of blinds. There's a lot of blinds that are used or things like that, that You don't really think about too much, but if you start looking for it and watching for it, you're like, holy crap, that's deliberate.
Holy crap. Look at the angle of this. It's like there's so many little things that he does that makes you realize that even though we're being told a very simple story, a very basic linear path from A to B, it's done with so much intent and so much artistry that it's, it's really fun just to enjoy and just soak it all in.
It's
Aaron Couser: beautiful. Yeah.
Gabby Browne: The difference in change and dynamic of each scene. There are just so many fun comedic parts of this movie. When we're transitioning to more serious tones, there is changes in lighting. It's very unique. It's very
Jonathan VanSickle: cool. So as he's walking through the market, one of his friends approaches him, we could assume, with the way they act, and he says, Hey Doc, got some of the good stuff.
Mm hmm.
Gabby Browne: He's like, hey, yeah, come on in. This is not your normal sake.
Aaron Couser: Yeah, [00:20:00] he's like, well, most of your sake is like, gasoline. Why would I want to drink it? And he goes, come on. He knows he's still gonna come on in. Exactly.
Gabby Browne: Even if it's gasoline, you'll drink it.
Aaron Couser: He recognizes a customer sitting right next to him, and obviously he's told them not to come to the bar and not to drink alcohol based off his condition, and basically shames
Gabby Browne: him.
Telling the doc he's gonna keep on his patience no matter what.
Jonathan VanSickle: And not only that, once again, it's beautifully done, and only the way Kurosawa can do it. Because as soon as the doctor walks into the bar, the way it's shot is these two customers are in the foreground. And it's really hard to do this over podcast, we know, but...
The two customers are in the foreground and we see him immediately react like, Oh shit, there's the doctor. Oh God, he's going to see me here. And the doctor has the interaction with the bartender first kind of in the background as there's still action and story being told in the front. It's just another classic example of how many light years this guy was ahead of his time and still to this day you watch it and you go, wow, that is [00:21:00] exceptionally done.
Aaron Couser: We're at the bar. Is that the first time we see Jen?
Gabby Browne: Yeah, it's the first time we see Jen. He asks her, are you sweet on that bag of bones? And she goes, no. Because he asks about Matsunaga. He's like, hey, you guys hear about this guy? And the bartender's like, yeah, what you want to know? And the girl's like, kind of like, what?
Why are you asking? Like, why are you asking about him? And she's like, what? You like him or something? And she's like, no. I don't know. That wasn't very coy, miss. I could tell.
Aaron Couser: You could tell. She says he always hangs out at the dance hall all day long and the doctor thinks, oh, you must be kind of sweet on him.
Yeah. Why aren't you sweet on people like me? Like me. Yeah, you
Gabby Browne: should, you should fall for someone like me because out of this transaction, you will at least get free medical care.
Jonathan VanSickle: Healthcare.
Gabby Browne: Yes, like honestly.
Aaron Couser: And they all look at [00:22:00] each other and they all just start cracking
Gabby Browne: up. Yep. LOL. This doctor is
Jonathan VanSickle: funny.
He's a joker.
Aaron Couser: But you would think that would be pretty important, you know, everybody's getting around you getting tuberculosis. Yeah. You think, okay, at least I'll be healthy with this guy, even though he'll be screaming at me half the
Gabby Browne: time. Yeah. I can't imagine he has many healthy relationships, so.
Aaron Couser: They inform him. Matsunaga hangs out at the old dance hall. Camaray number one. Number one, yeah.
Gabby Browne: The dancing. Dun dun dun dun. We meet Nene now, and Lord Baby G's McCree's Kurosawa was not short on blunt. People to be in this movie because lord almighty nanae is like, oh my god, your hand feels heavy Is it because you're packing and she's just like wow, we're in the middle of the dance floor I know i'm dating like a the head honcho.
So let's just be crazy about it Huh, not even coy [00:23:00] slightly and she just
Aaron Couser: slaps his hand probably knows He got shot the day before or something. She don't care. She wants she wants that rude ass She wants that attention.
Jonathan VanSickle: Yeah. So after she slaps his hand, he's, you know, he's a little frustrated. They head back to the table and gets himself, uh, another drink and she states, you're drunker than normal today.
Like, you reek. You've had a lot.
Gabby Browne: I really don't like it when you act like this. I mean, I get it. Yeah. I don't like it either, but it's just the way she speaks. She goes about everything. I'm like, is this the one that you would pick? The one that mouths off? You know, sorry, not trying to be rude, but it seems like most of the other girls are kind of afraid.
And Nene is like, nah, fuck you. I, what? I'm going to slap your injured hand. Nene is hot shit. She's the queen bee. Yeah,
Aaron Couser: for sure. Absolutely. The only queen bees can act like this. I was going to say, there's something
Jonathan VanSickle: attractive about that. Yeah. Doesn't put up with your shit.
Aaron Couser: She kicks his shoe and goes, It's like you're wasting away.
Wow,
Jonathan VanSickle: he kind of is. He's had some heavy stuff on his mind.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, and [00:24:00] heavy holes in
Aaron Couser: his chest. When his thug friends tell him the doctor's here to see him, it probably doesn't really help his case a little,
Gabby Browne: you know, either. No, he's like, god damn. I'd, I'd probably need another shot before I go outside.
Aaron Couser: Matsunaga finds out Dr. Sanada is there to see him and goes out to meet him. Yeah, he's
Gabby Browne: eating a popsicle. God love him. I honestly love this doctor. He's so funny. Just like rolling up, like chilling, eating a popsicle. This is a talk talking about this guy's health, life, or death, and he's just like, I'm enjoying my time.
And that's what Doctor does throughout the entire movie. Yes, he is a hypocrite, but does he enjoy himself thoroughly? Yes, he also does. He does what he wants. Yes, whatever he wants, whenever he wants.
Aaron Couser: Sonata, as per usual, is very skeptical of the Doctor. His intentions and why he's here. He goes, you better not be coming here to blackmail me.
He's assuming that the [00:25:00] doctor, now that he knows he probably has tuberculosis, that he has a bill for him, he doesn't trust Sonata
Gabby Browne: at all. In that sense too, he doesn't trust Sonata, even that he has tuberculosis. He's like in true denial about being sick. And the doctor's like, nope, I am a truthful person.
Everything I tell you is the truth. You've got TB. Sorry.
Jonathan VanSickle: That's just the way it's gonna be. And he says, all right, well, fair enough. And they start discussing payment. And he says, pay me
Gabby Browne: less and buy me a drink.
Aaron Couser: Well, then he goes, I could get even more expensive because of the way that he drinks.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, Lord, everybody knows around town that Doc is the local drunk, you know.
Aaron Couser: Ask around about me at the market. Everybody bowing down to him. Yeah,
Gabby Browne: he takes a flower and they're like, thank you for taking, for stealing from my shop. Thank you, sir. Everything
Aaron Couser: is his to take. He's the boss of this area, man of high respect. And he takes him [00:26:00] to.
Gabby Browne: Matsunaga walks in and this is where business is conducted.
As soon as he walks in, everyone else exits. There's this couple that are like smashed together dancing like cheek to cheek and someone has to literally interrupt them to be like, y'all gotta get going, we gotta get going. Matsunaga's here with someone and it looks kind of like they mean. They shut the
Aaron Couser: music off, Matsunaga goes behind the bar, gets the good stuff out.
Oh
Gabby Browne: yeah. And as this whole scene is taking place, everyone that just left is watching from the window in the background. So it's like, you are constantly seeing movement and you're like. Okay, well, so much for a private meeting.
Aaron Couser: It is a big deal for Matsunaga to bring someone into a bar to discuss something probably very serious. It's that doctrine nonetheless.
Jonathan VanSickle: Yeah,
Gabby Browne: exactly. It's like, you're the head honcho, there must be something going on. [00:27:00] Doc like pulls the, pours like a super fat glass of whiskey to the point that it's like over the top of the brim and he just like sips down and he just sips it cause it's so funny.
You love it. I know and then he's like, well drinking for you is basically like suicide so I'll drink your portion. And don't worry
Aaron Couser: about that. Matsunaga said, let's be friends. Let's have some of the good stuff. And he almost kind of apologized in a way. The reason for my behavior is because of the news that I got.
And so let's be friends. Here's some of the really good stuff. During this exchange, Matsunaga remembers the nurse, Sanada's nurse. Oh, yeah. I recognize her. Who is she? Sanada. Sanada immediately goes, she's mine.
Jonathan VanSickle: Jokingly. Clearly. He's like, stop playing. Come on, man. Really? What gives? No, he avoids the question.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, he goes on to something else instead. Doc is like, no, you have a hole in your lung right now, sir. You cannot take a [00:28:00] shot. And he literally slaps the shot out of the doctor's hand. So it just once again shows if Matsunaga does not hear what he wants to hear, he's gonna have a literal three year old temper tantrum every freaking time.
He cannot control himself. Well, he doesn't
Jonathan VanSickle: want to come to terms with the truth of the situation. Why does he worry about this guy? Why is he there for these people? And I guess that's really just like how much he really cares about his patients. In his own unique way, he's just constantly there for them and constantly pressing for them to do better, regardless of how hard they push
Gabby Browne: back.
Not just a doctor, he wants to be like a moral guide for all these youths as well. Your
Aaron Couser: business is your business, but when you have that disease, that becomes my business. He sees himself as a higher entity at that point. What's in you is something that I can cure. It's now my obligation to do that.
Matsunaga angrily takes a drink, and you could tell.
Gabby Browne: He [00:29:00] immediately starts coughing too. The doctor literally is like, You have tuberculosis. Boop, boop, boop, like right in your face. So what are we gonna do with you when you die? I mean, I'm assuming cremation. Picks up doctor by his bootstraps and tosses him straight out the door.
Give him the old heave ho. Truly the old heave ho. Yeah. And I do not think, I don't know how much alcohol costs during this time period, but I don't think he also got paid appropriately for his services.
Aaron Couser: Back in the doctor's office, Dr. Tsunada is wiping off his arms and bruising that he received from being thrown out of Bolero.
Gabby Browne: Matt Tsunaga is a lame horse, and I think I need to put him out of his misery. It's just like, so lame. That's so frickin funny. It's like, wow, this, uh, man, what a compassionate doctor.
Jonathan VanSickle: It's that kind of thing, you know, you're saying to yourself whenever you're, you know, you're pissed off, you're a little angry, you might be, [00:30:00] uh, talking a little outside of your league and you're like, those sons of bitches, I'm gonna show them
Gabby Browne: what's what. I know, and then Mio's over there like, You realize you do this every time, man?
You do this any time you get a new patient and you get, like, set on someone. It's you more than it is them. Do you realize that? He talks about Matsunaga and how he feels about him. How he's It's how he just kind of sees himself in Matsunaga.
Aaron Couser: Mio also explains that if Sonata's bedside manner was a little bit more gentle.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, just a touch more
Aaron Couser: gentle. He would be more like other doctors who have more private
Gabby Browne: practices. He's like, I'm just doing my job and that no one takes it. Seriously as he
Aaron Couser: does this dog's too old to learn new tricks most doctors don't take their job this Seriously, he is too blunt and gives a terrible first impression.
Gabby Browne: She didn't even like him when they met and she was like, [00:31:00] dude You are not compassionate whatsoever Don't lie, but try to be just a little Softer and he can't, he will not learn something new for anyone. Well,
Jonathan VanSickle: and I think that's why it works so well, almost with a character like Matsu. Naga is because this is the currency and dialect that he's used to is, you know, these brute rough kind of, uh, people in his life.
Yeah. So I think that's why. These two characters are also connected is because they kind of speak the same language. Absolutely.
Gabby Browne: He's talking about his colleague, Takahama over here, who went to school with him and Takahama's leading the class and getting A's and our sweet doctor's selling his clothes to go to the brothel.
Selling your clothes to go to the brothel?
You didn't have anything else? Like you have one, one pair of shorts, one shirt, and that's all, that's all a man needs. That's all a man needs, [00:32:00] apparently.
Aaron Couser: Now we're getting hints that. This doctor has had a kind of a seedy past.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, so I'm, we're seeing a little bit more of why he sees himself in Matsunaga.
And that's
Aaron Couser: why he's so hard on them. Mm hmm. Because he understands the path of shame and heartache and... Addiction. Addiction. He still has it. Even though he's a, an angel, he will always have this addiction with inside of him.
Gabby Browne: There's this girl on TikTok, she always plays this receptionist to heaven. It's always like people coming up and she's like, Your angel express wings, they got declined, you know, because you were a severe alcoholic.
Like, that's what she would say to doctors.
Aaron Couser: He's uh, he's not a saint.
Gabby Browne: Oh god, the lord
Aaron Couser: almighty. But that, that gives him, not car blanche, but he knows how to talk to these guys. Absolutely. It's risky. But this is the only way that they will understand how to be talked to. It's because he's lived that kind of life.
He's been there where Matsunaga was.
Gabby Browne: It's not just [00:33:00] his lungs that are sick. It's everything that's surrounding him. It's him being sick to his core. He needs to escape the lifestyle in order for him to fully escape his disease. And he says something about how his heart hasn't totally frozen over yet.
There's still a
Aaron Couser: chance for Matsunaga to save himself.
Gabby Browne: Okada. Have you heard about him lately?
Aaron Couser: Speaking of all these evil deeds, now we're introduced to this new character and really why Mia is involved with the Doctor to begin with. This old crime lord, Okada.
Gabby Browne: He's been in prison for a hot minute, and now he's getting out. For
Jonathan VanSickle: almost four years now, yeah, he's been behind bars. So he says he should be out any day now.
Pretty
Aaron Couser: scary. The doctor
Gabby Browne: says he'll never find you with me, which I don't understand how that's possible because this is his freaking domain. If she could never be found, she would have to [00:34:00] move. You know, it's one of those situations. Do you see how much the city respects or has? to respect the Yakuza. He's the only truthful one that will actually hide her from the Yakuza.
And I understand that, but that's just a little naive, Mr. Doctor, because she says he has a sixth sense. He will not stop until he finds me. She just despises him. He stole her life away. The doctor says, well half of it anyway. It's like, why did you even mean to make that comment, sir? Seriously. We're talking about me hiding from my abused ex partner who is getting out of prison.
Can we not? Maybe? Please?
Aaron Couser: Mio doesn't seem too confident that the doctor will protect her. She actually probably just assumes that once Okuda gets out, she'll probably have to go back to him. So she's already making excuses up. Well, you know, a lady would go back to her man that [00:35:00] got out of prison. Sonata's like, what are you thinking?
He ruined your life. But in her mind, she probably knows once he's out, it's going to happen eventually. She's almost
Jonathan VanSickle: trying to like negate. She's like, man, maybe if I just go back to him now and I'm just waiting for him whenever he gets out.
Gabby Browne: Yeah. It's a hard life to go down, being in an abusive relationship with someone.
You're constantly thinking of their next move before yours even. What's going to be the best buffer to make my life easier?
Aaron Couser: It's time for dinner. Yeah.
Gabby Browne: He is drinking and grandma's like, yeah, you are just like a little shit. You're just like a little drunk. Yeah. We know
Aaron Couser: you fell down. Yeah, I, I heard
Gabby Browne: you fall down. Seriously? Yeah. Like, no, you're not drinking anymore tonight. Yeah. He's asking
Jonathan VanSickle: for more sake. Yeah. Drinking, [00:36:00] singing a song.
This is where he's a little more liquid. Truth with homegirl, what
Gabby Browne: kind of woman would I be if I didn't wait for my man outside of prison? You know, and he's just like, Are you trying to think like a slave right now? That's literally what he says to her. Compares her to a slave. I just can't. He makes so many people cry in this movie.
And he's like, you said it with your own words. He stole your life from you. Sometimes you do need the hard truth. He abused you, he gave you VD, and he left you like a dog, that's what he said. And you said you still want to wag your tail and go after them? Follow him and you'll die of syphilis. It's like, Jesus Christ!
Okay, yeah, maybe I didn't love him, but I'm just trying to figure out a situation where I'm not constantly terrified all the time. And sometimes in that situation you do need just like a hard Smashdown of truth, and she starts bawling, you know, very obviously for appropriate [00:37:00] reasons because that was a terrible interaction.
Aaron Couser: It was so harsh that even grandma pokes her head out. She's shocked by this crazy thing.
Gabby Browne: Grandma's pretty harsh too, I will say. I know where he gets it, honest to God. Like, grandma can be a little sass munch as well. So it's one of those situations where it's like, you're making the abused girl cry, literally.
Aaron Couser: The acting in this is pretty spectacular because especially when he was denied that alcohol, you saw the shame in him. Like he, Oh, I did fall down, you know, I am way too drunk, but I can't show it. But you see internally the shame inside of him, which is probably the reason he really lashed out to such a degree with Mio there.
And he knows it's time to go to bed, you know, he's gone too far and there's no more alcohol on the table.
Gabby Browne: There was a look of recognition in his eyes that he maybe he was like, We just talked about this. She just told me I'm too harsh. And now I'm geez. Yeah. I just told her she [00:38:00] compared it to a slave. You know, it's like, you can't really, it's about as low as you can go.
Aaron Couser: Dessert's not gonna rectify this.
Gabby Browne: No, no, no, not, not another drop.
Lights up, new day, and the teacher's pet of tuberculosis has arrived at the doctor's office.
The IMDB lists her as school girl. Can you give her a name? No, uh, unfortunately, you don't get a name when you're just
Jonathan VanSickle: that good. We barely even got Sonata's name
Gabby Browne: unless you really, like, listen. I know! It's literally, they only say it once. Yeah. In the entire movie. Really? Is it only once? It's, I think it's only once.
The only part for sure is when his old college bud is like, Sonata! And I almost was like, wait a minute. Otherwise he's just [00:39:00] a
Jonathan VanSickle: doctor, yeah. Who is that? He's checking out one of his patient's x rays. This younger girl. Looks like you're doing a lot better. You're doing well. You seem to be moving in the right direction, you know?
You're sticking with the plan.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, and he's repetitive as he usually is. Homegirl is 17 now. You do not need to treat me like a kindergartner. I know all your sayings. I know all your phrases. So
Aaron Couser: this is where we get that duality. We saw how Matsunaga dealt with his tuberculosis. And now we're seeing how this young lady is handling her diagnosis of tuberculosis.
Even when he jabs at her. Talking down to her about like a school girl story about how she needs to behave. She just responds with respect instead of where Matsunaga responds with violence. Yeah,
Gabby Browne: and anger. And rage. Just the difference too between having fear because I'm assuming Matsunaga always thought he would go pretty [00:40:00] early if he has been involved in this gang for his entire life.
The fear of something taking your life that wasn't the initial plan. Versus this girl who has so much hope, where she's approaching this illness as something that she can conquer. Whereas, Nomatsunaga is like, this is an unknown to me. I'm, I'm terrified because of the unknown, and, and he can't even.
Possibly imagine putting his trust in someone else, whereas this girl can humble herself to the position of, well, she's young enough to also look up to her elders, she's young enough to humble herself and say, I need help. And brave enough to tackle it. Yeah, and brave enough to, yeah, frickin, yeah, she's brave
Jonathan VanSickle: as hell.
Yeah, to actually stand up to it and do something challenging. Braver than
Aaron Couser: Matsunaga.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, for sure. Treating tuberculosis requires rational thinking. Sh I know. I know. Dude, I you've said it. That's the thing you say every frickin time. You're [00:41:00] a repetitive, old, drunk doctor. And I'm here for you. You're the best.
Aaron Couser: I'm gonna be even better next time you see me, and I bet you a candy. I bet you a sweet. And he accepts the bet.
And he's satisfied, you see him when she leaves, he sits back, he's proud that someone took his advice. That he's made a difference. She's listened and she's gotten better. She's followed through, even though it was a pain in the butt for her, it was a challenge. She honored him by listening to him. And respecting
Gabby Browne: his position of being a medical doctor, it's just one of those things.
He takes his boiling water and pours it into his alcohol bottle to dilute the alcohol to start drinking. His medical grade alcohol bottle. Yes, medical grade alcohol bottle that is apparently, um, [00:42:00] rationed by the government, you know? Lord. What happened to your ration, dude?
Aaron Couser: What happens when he drinks all of that and there's a patient needs
Gabby Browne: it?
Shit, man. He didn't use any of that on old Matsunaga when he came in. I don't think he uses it very often.
Jonathan VanSickle: Yep. Oh yeah.
Aaron Couser: That's right. He takes a big swig, by the way. Oh yeah. You can feel it hurts. You can see in his face, he's
Jonathan VanSickle: like, Ooh,
Aaron Couser: that's the stuff.
Gabby Browne: And Matsunaga's like, leaned up against the door all like, raggedy. Oh wow, you just entered here like a ghost, man, showing up just out of nowhere.
Aaron Couser: You start seeing like, the makeup department come in here. Oh yeah.
Gabby Browne: Oh yeah. It was like, it really reminded me of that. Three amigos make up and I was like, I hope they didn't use lead paint Literally once again, but they probably did they probably were using my
Jonathan VanSickle: film.
Yeah in that era. Sure Sonata's not [00:43:00] fooled. He he notices it and he's like you've got some symptoms, don't you? He's like, what is it fever cold?
Gabby Browne: Fit as a fiddle. What are you talking about? I'm looking good The doctor
Aaron Couser: wants Matsunaga to be truthful. Just be honest. If you just could be honest, we can get to the problem.
I'm
Gabby Browne: not making fun of you. Like literally having a life altering and life ending disease is a natural human fear. Seriously. It's not outlandish to be afraid. Just say it. Just, just say
Aaron Couser: it. Tell me. You walked over here. You're at the doctor's
Gabby Browne: office. You're feeling bad. I need you to humble yourself like that little girl right before you and say, I need help.
But he literally can't do it. He's like,
Jonathan VanSickle: nah, it's a rainy day. I kind of wanted to come over and have a drink with you. And this really actually kind of pisses the doctor off. This is when he's like, come on. Why can't you just [00:44:00] be honest with me? Like, why
Gabby Browne: are you here? That girl that just left has more guts than you.
Aaron Couser: Ooh, that's gotta be, he knows where to hit it hard. He knows really when to push it past the line to really get the reaction he wants. And yeah, here comes, here comes more of salty
Gabby Browne: salt stuff. I know, geez maccrees, holy cow. This doctor has put himself in many a problematic position at this point. Honestly, he's wasting so much time.
so much energy, just constantly attacking people in like one of the least efficient ways ever. Also, that was probably a lot of effort to go all the way over there, have a two minute conversation and then just start attack the person you're with.
Aaron Couser: It's interesting how their ending of all of their interactions seems physical. You kind of come to blows. Yeah. Especially at first.
Gabby Browne: Then he gets too weak to come to blows anymore. Don't act like it would stop for a reason.
Aaron Couser: Yeah. The TB is taking effect. Mio comes back in, breaks it up [00:45:00] again. She's actually kind of like the bouncer more than she
Gabby Browne: is the, she is the voice.
She's like, hey, you can't hit a woman. I'm here. Please, forcing in between here. Homeboy runs out of the room and the doctor just starts chucking shit at him. Everything. Except... His alcohol, he's like, I can't do that. I can't do that. But I also wonder what all he just wasted.
Aaron Couser: Even though Sonata has been almost murdered by Vastanaga two times, he looks outside the window and he says, the poor fool, he still has.
a sympathy for him. He still wants to help him. It's
Gabby Browne: pouring rain outside, doesn't even have an umbrella, you know? He's
Aaron Couser: got tuberculosis. You're starting to see Matsunaga stop caring in a way. I'd say
Jonathan VanSickle: not necessarily quite yet. Yeah. Because once we find out his intentions of that last scene. I'd say he hasn't quite
Gabby Browne: given up yet.
Yeah, I don't think he's fully given up. I just think, I think he's just so torn that he never thought he would be put in this position [00:46:00] that he's truly just living chaotically. Day to day he's not planning for any type of future, but I also think that he probably wasn't the type of person to do that before this.
Now it's more of a like, life or death situation where it's Day to day braces versus like before it was probably planning month to month for him.
Aaron Couser: Sonata now is, you know, he's out and about. Heading
Jonathan VanSickle: to the, uh, little squatter village down
Gabby Browne: the way. That's what they literally said, the squatter village. Yeah.
Isn't it? Yeah,
Jonathan VanSickle: that's what he said. It
Gabby Browne: is the squatter village. There's a car that stops. It's looking pretty fine. Nice car. Looking nice. Takahama's in there, his old colleague. Old Takahama. Old Takahama, he's like, Hey! Hey, Sonata, come on over. Let's, let's, like, hop on in. Where you going? Going to Squatter's Village?
Let's catch up, let's chat. I'll give you a ride. Yeah, I'll give you a ride down there.
Aaron Couser: Yeah, this guy's got a chauffeur. He's got a driver.
Gabby Browne: [00:47:00] Yeah. Literally, they're smoking cigs in the car, and even Sonata's like, Man, it looks Pedestrians look goofy as hell walking down the street with me in a car now. I'm like, Woohoohoo!
He likes it. He's feeling it. He is living his spouse life. Yeah, and it's not hot like those damn taxis either. It's like a nice little car there. You can get that breeze. Oh
Jonathan VanSickle: yeah. But he cuts straight
Gabby Browne: to the chase. What? No, no, no. Oh, he First of all, he asked Oh yeah. For some alcohol. Yes. Exactly. He's like, hey, do you have any more alcohol?
And he's like, what happened to your rations, dude? And he's like, I drank
Aaron Couser: it. He's basically drinking the ration government alcohol that is designed for his patients. It's kind of a scumbag move. Kind of terrible.
Gabby Browne: And Takahama tells him, You are not young anymore. You need to go easy, dude. Because, yikes, for real.
If a young doctor was drinking their alcohol rations from their medical kit, that's probably, like, a big ol code violation there. It means
Aaron Couser: he's just not making enough money. In his life to [00:48:00] support his habit, definitely has to cut corners somewhere. Yeah. He has to find other ways to compensate or keep drinking.
And that is with the alcohol that's right in front of him. He's
Gabby Browne: just gotta have it. Do you know this guy Matsunaga? You know him? And, and he's like, yeah. D do you know him? Because, d did he have x rays with you? Are you telling me that he came in and saw you and he listened to me and he did the thing that I told him to do?
And he's like, yeah, he's got a big ol hole and he has those x rays. It's like
Jonathan VanSickle: I sent him your way with
Gabby Browne: the x rays, yeah. It was raining, it was pouring rain that day.
Aaron Couser: This is a shocking revelation to Sonata. Oh, yeah. So now he knows for sure he has tuberculosis. I mean, he knew before, but now he has actual evidence. He's just keeping it from him. He's not wanting to totally accept
Jonathan VanSickle: it. Well, I think part of that is, is even Takahama told [00:49:00] Matsunaga, he said, you need to put your life in this man's hands right now and trust this doctor.
And I think probably coming to that realization, being Matsunaga, he's like, what? God dammit, I'm not, I'm
Gabby Browne: not trusting
Jonathan VanSickle: that old quack, yeah,
Gabby Browne: seriously.
Aaron Couser: But Takahama couldn't really help Matsunaga because he can't relate to him. He can't really talk and explain he has this horrible disease for him to realize it for himself.
That's why he sent him to Sonata because you are the expert on his type. You relate to him. You were able to communicate in your special, harsh, blunt way that only this kind of person would understand. It also
Gabby Browne: shows that Sonata is an actual good doctor. You know, I'm sure Matsunaga was probably like, yeah, you can take a bullet out of my hand, but I'm not even going to like, trust you just popping a stethoscope to my chest and assuming that I have tuberculosis.
Like what the hell? No, that's [00:50:00] not how that works. This kind
Aaron Couser: of reminded me a lot of Breaking Bad, like, as you were saying, because Walter White was kind of the guy that got tossed out, where the other guy became really rich, but they were both brilliant. Yeah. But really, Walter White was the most brilliant.
Yeah. And I always see Sonata probably being The genius, really, is just that he has these problems that keep him from social success, you know, financial success, because
Jonathan VanSickle: he doesn't, well, and he refuses, he's unwilling to change the way he is to reach those different levels. I mean, you can see the stubbornness in this doctor and the way he acts, the way he lives.
I mean, he's not going to change. Like you said, old dogs. Like him, do not learn new tricks. He is set in his ways and no matter how brilliant he may be, it's, you know, he is the way he is.
Gabby Browne: Dance hall? Yeah, dance hall. Doc's at the dance hall. I know you have the x rays [00:51:00] of the tango. He's,
Aaron Couser: he's not here to drink. Med student goes, oh, there's no more alcohol. They've drank all the alcohol. I'm here to do the tango,
Gabby Browne: right? Yeah, and he's like, idiot, that's the blues. You actually don't even know what you're talking about.
How are you supposed to treat me as a doctor when you don't know anything? That young blood energy of just, youthful men just think they're un, unkillable. They, they, they will never die. They're untouchable outside of this, you know? It's just that true naivete. Too great. But yeah, I'm the best. I run this goddamn town.
A hole in my lung? That can't get me down.
Jonathan VanSickle: These two clashing of egos in this moment because Matsunaga is being too stubborn to admit it. And Dr. Sonata, at this point, knows he has the ace card. He knows. He's like, I know that you went and got the x ray. I know you need my help. And he's letting his ego kind of show a little bit.
He's like, I'm out here caring about you friggin hoodlums, you hooligans. Like I must be some kind of [00:52:00] angel to be out here caring for you people. You scum. Like he's kind of laying it on thick. To which Matsunaga replies, you know, some kind of dirty stinking angel you are. Like you just see like this big kind of bravado of both of them kind of going back and forth in this scene.
And you know, obviously the titular moment with that. And it's, it's, yeah, it's
Gabby Browne: great. If there's gonna be an angel of the scum pond, it might as well be Sonata, you know?
Jonathan VanSickle: Exactly.
Aaron Couser: With Manzunaga still refusing to give the x rays, you just see the frustration. He lies
Jonathan VanSickle: to him and he tells him that, he's like, I ripped him up.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, I know, I know for a fact that you have a hole in your lung. Just show up tonight. Just come to the office. Just show up. And that will prove to me that you at least... I just have something left to live for because you know the truth, I know the truth, there's no more denying it, there's physical evidence, or at least was physical evidence, you can rip up a paper but you can't rip up that hole in your lung, buddy.
[00:53:00] Time to put in some work on your body, mentally and physically.
Aaron Couser: Hey! Ready? You go ready. Matsunaga really does show up. Blackout
Gabby Browne: drunk! He's falling all over himself. Yeah, he's
Jonathan VanSickle: blasted.
Gabby Browne: Doc is like, you're
Aaron Couser: pathetic. He is not well. He's crawling to Sonata's office and kind of an emergency. All the ladies are up. He
Gabby Browne: does not have good vibes towards that doctor's office whatsoever.
It's not a place he wants to be.
Aaron Couser: Sonata sees him Very disappointed. Couldn't even show
Jonathan VanSickle: up sober.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, grandma's literally like, God, imagine what your parents would think. And he's like, Guess what? Don't have any! It's literally like any harsh thing that could possibly be said is said and then comes back with an even harsher response.
Hey, guess what? I'm going to give you a [00:54:00] slight. Just kidding. Can't slight me there because I'm unslightable. They're both unslightable. They're both just stubborn bulls of men. Just despair. How to
Aaron Couser: spare
Gabby Browne: each other. Jesus Christ. Yeah. How about how, who's going to be the saddest sack of the sad sacks? Just put you all in a ball and roll you down the hill of positivity.
Aaron Couser: Sonata tends to Matsunaga.
Gabby Browne: And Matt, even in his drunken fricking stupor is like. I know you, I know you from somewhere. I recognize, oh yeah, Mio, he's like, I recognize you. I've seen that face before. Immediately, anytime those situations happen, Sonata's like, buffer, buffer, change the
Jonathan VanSickle: situation. He's trying his best to protect her from the criminal element of the city.
Gabby Browne: Matsunaga's like, that Takahama guy, you guys are all... It's a conspiracy. That's how in denial he is now. He's like, you must have paid him to say that stuff about you. The doctors have a conspiracy. Because number one, I can't believe that he talked so well [00:55:00] about you, first of all. There's no possibility of you actually being a good doctor.
There's no way I have this. And he's like, yeah, no, you will
Aaron Couser: die. He says he ripped up the x rays. Sonata knows that he has these x rays and he goes, yeah, well I ripped them up. And I'm not afraid to die. Nope, I'll
Gabby Browne: die anytime. No biggie. Nope, no biggie, my life ain't nothing. He's a liar too. Yeah. It's literally like, yeah, I ripped him up.
And then it's like, very, very obviously in his pocket. They just pull it out of his jacket pocket. And they're like, wow, this is dumb. Dumb kid. And
Jonathan VanSickle: the whole time in the scene, he's completely flailing around emotionally and physically throughout the scene. I mean, it is quite the spectacle, honestly, to see.
Like, we're describing it pretty calmly to how chaotic and ridiculously drunk this man is playing it. Yeah,
Gabby Browne: just literally. sprawling on the ground. Doc looks pretty shook at those x rays. That hole must be hefty. [00:56:00] Look at this x ray. You see that big hole you got there? And Matsunaga's like, yeah, good ventilation.
It's just like the, the freaking moments of cynical comedy and like the sarcasm in this is so good. It's so
Jonathan VanSickle: good, honestly, you know, kind of one of the sad things about this and I didn't know when or how I would talk about this, but we'll talk about it now is that Tashira Mifune was quite the alcoholic that they had a lot of troubles with later on in his career working with Akira Kurosawa.
And I think Akira even stated himself, he was like, you know, at first we didn't really know how to, how to handle it. And then towards the end, he was like, listen, man, you had a. Pull it the fuck together. So a lot of these scenes, a lot of this acting might've been less acting and more him. I mean, this was just a part of what was accepted with him on set at this time in the forties.
Watching a lot of this, I kind of had a second little lens happening where I was like, I wonder how much he is [00:57:00] drinking or how much he was drinking at this point, because that became a huge, huge problem. Yeah. It became a huge issue throughout the rest of his career. Yikes. He
Aaron Couser: is struggling, he's accepting, he's crawling to this office in his, one of his worst moments.
He doesn't want to change his life, he doesn't want to say no to alcohol anymore, he doesn't want to say no to his lifestyle anymore, he doesn't want to give it up. The reality of the situation where it just, there's an impasse, and he has to make the decision. This is his last chance. The door. He's closing in on Matsunaga and he crushes the glass that's in his hand.
He just can't do it anymore. And you see him kind of fall, his head fall, and the doctor says, you have to do what I say. And I believe that's really what triggers him. He accepts it. He accepts that I will decide to live the better
Gabby Browne: lifestyle. [00:58:00] He's resided to this moment of just, do you actually think I'll get better?
Even if I put my effort towards this, is it gonna be worth it for me in the end? And the doctor just says, you will, you will. He just repeats everything that he says, you will, to him. Get off your high horse. You're lying to me. You're making fun of me. Stop making fun of me. And he's like, no, you will get better.
I just showed you that hole. I've treated people like you. I can make you better. He's like, I'm not taking any orders from you. And then he passes straight out on his face. We got some music coming on in the background. The mandolin, no, it's a guitar. As
Aaron Couser: passed out as you think Matsunaga is at this point, the fact that the doctor miscategorized the instrument will come up, and this is what made him more argumentative.
Gabby Browne: Yeah, he's like, I have to prove you wrong no matter what. I will wake from a slumber. Can't even
Jonathan VanSickle: let it go. The cesspool, the pond, the sewage, are representing the state [00:59:00] of Matsunaga's affairs, his lungs, the city, and we're taken back to our lone guitar player. As he's strumming a familiar tune, a stranger approaches him
Aaron Couser: in a black robe and a white hat.
Very mysterious. And basically just tries to take the guitar from this man. The guitarist is resistant to me. This is his guitar. Who are you? But you see inside this man is not playing around.
Gabby Browne: No, he's got some, some scary shit behind those eyes there.
Aaron Couser: And he asked for the guitar again, and he does give it up.
And this mysterious man sits down, starts playing a different kind of tune. Quite a
Gabby Browne: bit more intricate, a little bit more. Dark sounding, ominous, you may say. Mio runs to wake up the doctor and she knows, she knows that song. She knows that he's playing. Okada, that is his song. That's his favorite song. She knows that there's only one person that that could be playing at.
Okado [01:00:00] gives the guitar back. He asks the kid if he knows the song. It was really popular when you
Jonathan VanSickle: were younger. He's like, yeah, no, I don't know it. What's it called? The
Aaron Couser: Killer's Anthem.
Gabby Browne: Oh, wait, so that's why Mio recognized it. It's just like, okay, how many people are running around this cesspool of a, of a, of a village town, shithole town, playing The Killer's Anthem.
It sounds pretty prolific, but goddamn, the doctor has to approach every situation with skepticism, no matter what.
Aaron Couser: Anybody could be playing that song.
Gabby Browne: Anybody, oh no. Getting out of prison, immediately playing a song called The Killer's Anthem. Should we have maybe given him a longer sentence,
Jonathan VanSickle: possibly? The kid asks him, he's like, Who's crew are you with, bro?
Gabby Browne: I absolutely loved, like, the modernization of the language. I don't know if it was like, uh, It was so funny, though, where he was like, Yeah, what gang you wrong with, [01:01:00] bro? He literally says, Oh God, have things ever changed? And have they ever? The only thing that hasn't is this stupid puddle.
Aaron Couser: This puddle of sewage, infestation, and disease, which to its core, the tuberculosis, the alcoholism.
And Okada sees that things have changed and it's time for him to step on into the ring.
Gabby Browne: We'll have to see what happens next week though with uh, all of our fantastic pro not protagonists.
Spotlight.
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