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")

First of all, you could never go wrong with a pairing of Toshiro Mifune and Hideko Takamine, two of the greatest actors that have ever been in film. Second, this tale of a rickshaw man known at the "Wild Matsu" who helps a young boy named Toshio and becomes a part of his growing up is told vividly through numerous scenes over time. Ms. Takamine plays Yoshiko, who was widowed soon after she met Matsu, and her performance is understated but essential to the film. Mr. Mifune, who is best remembered for works with the great Kurosawa, stretches his acting muscles greatly here, showing some vulnerability in a challenging role. There are so many films to recommend with Ms. Takamine and Mr. Mifune that are alternately entertaining and heartbreaking. This has both those elements and its a treasure of Japanese cinema.

The story of a great man indeed. A man who, despite his poverty and unjustifiable way of life, finds happiness and appreciates the simple and basic things in it, and the people who make contact with him quickly recognize his great character and kindness. Toshiro Mifune may have just delivered one of his best performances in his whole acting career, so different from his usual expressions he would normally showcase in Kurosawa's films. In this film, while in some parts he impersonates a similar role to those he would do in Kurosawa's films, he mostly adopts a personality of a humble, charitable man. He is definitely the core and character that makes this film overflow with greatness, although many of the other people involved in the cast are just as important.

The fact that this film is very rare and difficult to track, in my opinion, is comparable to the unfortunate life of Matsu (character enacted by Toshiro Mifune) who, being a wonderful man, goes through life mainly unnoticed and unacknowledged; only some people get to know him better and firmly state that he could have been someone big. Such is the fate of this film; it is highly underrated, but if you are fortunate enough to find it, you will behold the story of an admirable man.