Identity as Deceit: Why the Bad Sleep Well

If you can put the world away you can sleep well. That is, if you are a bad guy. The bad guys are used to having two identities (at the least).

1: a public face that is benign

2: a second face whose pragmatism allows for graft, dishonesty, violence, threats, murder, forced suicide

Once you’ve got the switch to turn on and off, you sleep sweet!

Our hero, Toshiro Mifune, looking so Japanese businessman-ish in his glasses finds it quite difficult to switch on and off easily. One example is his relationship to his wife, whom he married in a second face way, but for whom he has begun to feel deep affection for in a first face way.

It is, possibly, his inability to use everyone as needed in the second face way, that causes his downfall.

Is Kurosawa saying that you must be worse than the worst to sleep well? Because the Mifune character’s final sleep is not a happy one, is it?

Maybe not the worst of the worst, but I do agree to be effective at anything considered bad, you most have an on and off switch. Never a good idea to carry your work to bed or the get the two sides intermingled.

Maybe a reveal possibly to the hidden, suppressed, good nature to Mifune character, I’m not sure, but you make some great comments.

Hey Jeremy,

How you doing? I have missed your comments and input. Good to be back, and able to think a bit about these films. I really do love this forum and what people have been contributing.

It’s amazing to me that there is so much good energy still circulating. My other site on Ozu goes for long whiles without much happening. Of course, that site doesn’t have a Vili moderating and moving things along.

Naturally I was very depressed upon your absence from the forums, for your comments are my only joy in life… but I understand if you dont care about me, and much rather seek worldly adventures; for who would care about a insignificant microcosm of a little boy and the one joy that he finds in the big scary world. 😆

Seriously, well come back. As for I, no worldly adventure to speak of, or anything more exciting then finding $5 in my pant pocket. To which I went on a McDonald’s mega-kid Happy Meal shopping spree with.

Yes, I buy happy meals, but the mega-kids one, because, well, I’m mega-for a kid.

It’s a great deal, and one should never turn down a free toy- even when it’s being handed out my a strange old man, in a rusty, old van.

So, with that, all is well, but I’m still recovering from an accidental blow the right kidney, that while not painful, has made me very nauseated and tried all last week and somewhat today.