The Bad Sleep Well
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Year Released: 1960
Rating: 3.0
Toshiro Mifune's stern office worker - modeled after Hamlet - seeks revenge against the corrupt corporation that led his father to commit suicide, going so far as to marry the boss' crippled daughter just to get a better tactical advantage. This is admittedly lightweight for Kurosawa - and, like a lot of his other films, gets better as it goes along, starting off a little slowly - but the view of the corporate world is completely dead-on (think Enron) and intentionally (and perhaps rightfully) pessimistic because people with money and power can and do get away with murder (I imagine George W. Bush sleeps very well at night). Having worked in a similar environment for a brief period of time (insurance), I can attest to the sickening loyalty some people show to the company, plotting against others to make themselves look better.
