Stray dog comes out as a very beautiful film about human existence, dressed in the clothes of film noir and German expressionism. Shot in black and white, it tells the story of a young detective in post-war Japan, who gets his gun stolen. Shame propels the young detective on to a journey through the Japanese society, in search of the gun all the while the gun is being used to commit crimes. The society he enters during his chase is a torn and chaotic one, and the young detective soon learns that to get back gun and restore some of his honor, he have to resolve to use more wit and cunning than he is used to. He is also required to understand the society he is trying to penetrate. To aid him and to realize this he has an older detective, played by the always marvelous Takashi Shimura. He enters the life of the young detective with an enigmatic power and balanced pathos that brings the legendary relationship between a roshi and his pupil in zen, to mind. Kurosawa has a way of contrasting the beautiful and life-promoting forces intertwined with the ugly and nihilistic forces, that renders some of his forces extraordinary dept and life. This is one of those pictures.