Dodesukaden, which opened in the United States in 1971, was Japanese director Akira Kurosawa's first color work. The film, which tells several intertwining tales of life in the Tokyo slums, was hated by Japanese critics and a box office failure but was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Movie in 1971.

Rokkuchan, played by Yoshitaka Zushi, is a mentally challenged boy who lives in a fantasy world where he is a streetcar operator. He also becomes the starting point to stories of several other occupants of the Tokyo slums. These occupants include, among others, a father and son living in their vehicle but dreaming of a house, a young girl who takes out her feelings about her abusive uncle on a local delivery boy and a pair of alcoholics and their beleaguered wives. Through their stories, the intersection of life and fantasy, and the sadness it can cause or waylay become apparent.http://www.qnetwork.com/index.php?page=review&id=2186http://www.allmovie.com/work/dodeska-den-14178

• Yoshitaka Zushi as Rokkuchan

• Kin Sugai as Okuni, Rokkuchan's Mother

• Toshiyuki Tonomura as Taro Sawagami

• Shinsuke Minami as Ryotaro Sawagami

• Yuko Kusunoki as Misao Sawagami

• Junzaburo Ban as Yukichi Shima

• Kiyoko Tange as Mrs. Shima

"As with all of Kurosawa's work, especially when invoking post-war themes, the film is mainly concerned with how reality and fantasy merge in day-to-day life."— Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.comhttp://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Dodeska-den

"Despite its lowly subject matter, Dodeskaden is a visually striking film that uses color with great, almost emphatic vitality."— James Kendrick, Qnetwork.comhttp://www.qnetwork.com/index.php?page=review&id=2186