Der Rikschamann

When I think of Toshiro Mifune I usually think of the films he made with Akira Kurosawa, but he had a streak of excellent performances in interesting films directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. The first films I saw were the "Samurai Trilogy" (1954-56), three films based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi. That being said I was also impressed by The Rickshaw Man (1958). Mifune delivers his trademark "physical" role of Matsu "the Outlaw"(a title appropriated by Imamura in one of his documentaries) a larger than life rickshaw man in Kokura, Kyushu. Evidently, this is a remake of an earlier film, but i have never seen the previous film. Matsu befriends a small boy and becomes the surrogate father after the boy's father dies. He also carries a torch for the boy's mother played by Naruse regular Hideko Takamine. In this film we get to see Mifune win a running race,beat up several school boys in a big fight, and expertly play the taiko drum. The storyline is somewhat melodramatic, but Mifune carries the film with his charismatic performance-it is entertaining and worthwhile.

In the turn of the Twentieth Century, the rickshaw driver Matsugoro "Matsu" (Toshirô Mifune) is a happy man and a troublemaker well-known by everyone in his village. One day, Matsu sees an injured boy, Toshio, and brings him home. His mother Yoshiko Yoshioka (Hideko Takamine) asks Matsuo to take the boy to the doctor and then her husband Capt. Kotaro Yoshioka (Hiroshi Akutagawa) asks her to reward Matsu. However the rickshaw man refuses the money and becomes a friend of the family. When Kotaro unexpectedly dies, Matsuo helps Yoshiko to raise her son. Soon he falls in love with her, but he does not dare to open his heart to Yoshiko since they belong to different social classes.

"Muhomatsu no issho", a.k.a. "The Rickshaw Man", is a beautiful, sensitive and heartbreaking movie that begins as a comedy but ends in a melodrama. The story of the impossible love of a poor but good man in a Japan with a rigid social class structure has a very sad ending. The performance of Toshirô Mifune is impressive and the director Hiroshi Inagaki won a Golden Lion in the Venice Filme Festival (1958). I have just surprisingly found that this movie is a remake of the unknown 1943 "Muhomatsu no issho". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem do Riquixá" ("The Rickshaw Man")

Oh WOW! this film is slipping out off the radar, played by the great Toshiro Mifune, it's a tragedy of a great man named Muhomatsu, a Rickshaw Man. if you're looking for a great classic tear-jerker japanese drama then this is definitely a must to see!

Why on earth its so hard to get this film on video? Only an extreme bad English subtitled VHS, a good Chinese subtitle, but no German subtitle or German synchronized. I saw this film 40 years ago in German cinema, and except a Japanese VHS or DVD (see above)there's nothing to receive. This film is so good, that I even can understand the meaning of the Japanese Video. (With the help of my Japanese woman) The tragedy of a Rikshaman is shown in an excellent way, how he helps a young boy, when his father died, and that he cant marry the mother of that boy, because he is from a "lower Kaste". I hope one day I will get a German - or at least an English copy, to understand all the words, they say.

It's just a darn shame that this isn't available on tape or DVD. It is a delightful yarn about the upheaval in Japan at the coming of the 20th Century. Besides being a good tale, it gives the viewer a lot of insight into the metamorphosis of Japanese society away from the samurai code and into the Machine-Age. Funny and thought-provoking. Mifune got my attention with this film. I was a devoted fan after seeing "The Rickshaw Man" (as the posters proclaimed). Another bonus is the very excellent production design. There was no doubt in your mind what era the movie was transporting you to. And, for something shot in the '50s, you wouldn't find any complaints about the cinema-photography. You know, if a producer had half a brain, he/she couldn't go wrong with doing a remake of this film.