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Ikiru - Criterion Collection




  • 014 4  If you have never seen his films made in 1950 ' s , you should see them ASAP . You could feel his aggressive and challenging spirit for the movie . The title Ikiru means just Live . This film obviously lets you know what Live is . The first time when I saw this movie is 20 years age . In that days there were no video , vcd or dvd player , it was very difficult to see his films even in Japan . But now DVD have been released , How lucky we are !
    • 121 4  Finally , this soaring masterpiece gets the proper DVD release that it deserves . Simply , one of the great artistic achievments of the 20th century .
    • 130 4  not his best work , no matter what the hippies tell you .

  • it's not what is shown , but how , that is important , as in Flaubert's story A Simple Heart . It will be appreciated best by those who've realised they're going to die ( you'll know what I mean ) . Watching Ozu's Tokyo Story beforehand will prepare you for the subtle style . In Ikiru five themes are interwoven : 1 . Learning to accept death At the start of the film Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) learns he has stomach cancer and has six months to live . He has retreated into his work after his wife's early death and become devoted to routine . The camera shows us several shots in closeup of Shimura's face after he speaks to his doctor , and we see the anguish in his eyes . It's not fear he shows : it's horror , horror of what his life has become . The shock of his wife's death has caused him to stop living . The shock of his own coming death makes him realise he must start to live : only then will he be ready to die . There is a contrast in the documentary style depiction of the hospital scenes and Watanabe's office compared with the closeups of Shimura , hunched up with horrified realisation or showing eyes that are black pools of despair . This is the hardest thing to do in any art form : this is simplicity , and the effect is overwhelming , the acting superb . 2 . Placing value in your life Watanabe has not much expertise in how to live . His son Mitsuo ( Nobuo Kaneko ) and daughter-in-law Kazue ( Kyoko Seki ) share his home but not much else . Watanabe cannot speak to them about his cancer . Cast out on his own resources , Watanabe tells a complete stranger ( Yunosuke Ito ) what he could not tell his son . He asks his burning question , how can I live ? The two drunken men go and sample what they imagine is life : drinking shops , reviews , dance halls , strip clubs . This is desperate living , another way of dying . Watanabe brings the whole thing to a halt when he requests a pianist to play an old song , and sings the words , about young girls who fall in love and how they should enjoy that love for life is short . Perhaps it was a favourite of he and his wife when they first met . The melody is haunting , and is Watanabe's theme at several key points in the film . Later Watanabe sees Toyo ( Miki Odagiri ) one of his office colleagues . Watanabe is exhilarated by her joyous love of life , her enthusiasm , even her appetite . Perhaps she will teach him how to live . She teaches him he cannot live by proxy . Watanabe finally discovers fulfillment in doing good for others by using his position at work . Kurosawa opens out the sets progressively . We see the small rooms of Watanabe's house , then the cafe and dance hall scenes at night , then the streets and shops by day , then finally offices , streets and slums as Watanabe moves between the company of government heads of departments , yakuza trying to extort money from them , fellow bureaucrats , workmen and slum dwellers in his quest to have a children's park built . Giving meaning to your life is within everyone's scope , no matter how narrow that scope may be , and enlarges it . There is a touch of the moralist here , but we are liable to forget it as we watch Shimura , small , fragile , bowed over with pain , absolutely determined to make others respond . And they do . 3 . The dangers of grief How did Watanabe become the man he is ? In his bedroom is a photo of a young , attractive woman , his wife . In a flashback sequence we see her funeral , learn she died unexpectedly when her son was only five or six years old . The beautiful has vanished . This is a theme with haunting overtones in Japanese culture . That power , greatness , beauty is transient can teach us how to live more deeply . But Watanabe has given the dead woman his love and now he cannot stop grieving . In Watanabe's bedroom the photo is next to his citation for exemplary attendance at work . In the funeral car Watanabe watches as the hearse draws further away from him : it's a distance he has tried to deny ever since . 4 . The entropy inherent in large structures Watanabe started his bureaucratic life with ambitions to reform . His idealistic report is mouldering away in a bottom drawer . But he's working in a place where the only activity is the filling out of reports , not the achieving of change . It's a kind of tomb . Here no one will accept responsibility ; anything unusual , such as the request of a group of neighborhood mothers that a swamp be filled and made into a playground , is frantically passed on to another department . This is not merely satire . The government , of the country as of the local region , is behaving as Watanabe , withdrawing from living and substituting empty formalism in its place . It is no accident Watanabe is head of a department . If we want to we can ask , is it my problem too ? The moralist is much more in evidence here . 5 . The political response we have to others ' actions That Watanabe is not the entire subject of the film is made clear as his death occurs halfway through it . We see the Buddhist wake . The guests at the wake at first give lip service to Watanabe's virtues , then the politicians among them compete for the credit of building the park . The workers in Watanabe's department discuss who will be the next head . The group of petitioners are admitted to pay their respects . They say nothing ; but they are grateful . In Japan it matters how the dead are thought of . Kurosawa shows that all the survivors , even the grief stricken , are motivated by personal considerations . He shows this to be natural and inevitable , while satirising more extreme manifestations of it . The mourners cannot give meaning to their life by praising Watanabe though ; they will need to strive as hard as Watanabe had : most of them won't . There is a social dimension of our actions , as of our inactions . Kurosawa wants viewers of his film to be at that wake too , and reflect on what Watanabe's life and death meant . Watanabe dies in his playground . He sits on a swing , and sings his song of young girls who fall in love . It is snowing . Watanabe is happy , not because of the playground , not because of the song . He has found something vital . What makes Ikiru an important film is that viewers who watch it can understand just what he has found .
    • 001 4  There are many wonderful reviews on this site about why the film Ikiru is so great . And many are beautifully written . I have seen many films in my life , yet Ikiru stands head and shoulders above any I have ever seen . For me , the film is not only the greatest Japanese film ever , but the greatest film of all-time . One of the reviewers [ BARRY C . CHOW ] gave a very good and poignant review of this film . And I hope he is wrong that the film will not appeal to those raised on a western diet of car crashes , yammering idiots and pixie dust . However , maybe in time , when these viewers have grown older , wiser , and have experienced life , then these viewers will come to appreciate the pure genius of this Kurosawa classic . I know that writing that this is the greatest film of all-time is a bold statement . So let me clarify it a bit more : It is my favorite film of all-time . I have seen countless films , but none have had the impact that this film has had on me . Ikiru ( To Live ) is not a film about dying : but how we live our lives . And in this short life of ours how we live our life matters . Are we kind to our neighbors ? Do we care for our children ? And just as important : Do we spend enough quality time with them ? This is a quiet and simple film . The main protagonist Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) has gone through his life as another cog in the bureaucratic office where he works . Maybe at one time in his life he had dreams of better things ; yet with time he grows accustomed to his job ; and is no longer alive with the passion of what makes life enjoyable . Yes , one can belong to a bureaucratic machine ; but one can also make a difference , as we the viewer are about to find out . Moreover , we can also live a life outside of our jobs . We can all make a difference no matter what our life's work entails . However , events in Watanabe's life are about to take a different turn . A turn for the worse , and yet , also a redeeming turn for the better . When Watanabe is diagnosed with an incurable illness , he sets about to give some meaning to a life wasted as a lifetime bureaucrat . For our humble protagonist realizes that his life must have a meaning . Watanabe realizes that through all the wasted years since his wifes death he has not accomplished anything worthwhile . Alienated from his son , he sets about to correct in what little time he has remaining to make some sort of contribution to society . And this contribution comes in the way of a childrens park . Akira Kurosawa does not insult his viewers with a grand design of a holy crusader about to change the world . No , for Mr . Watanabe , the simple desire to build a childrens park is all that he seeks . Simple and yet all so poignant . We the viewer follow Mr . Watanabe as he meets the very bureaucratic headaches that he himself was once a part of , but no longer . We have sympathy for Mr . Watanabe as goes about trying to cut through all the red tape in order to see the park built before he dies . No longer the obstructionist bureaucrat , he now comes face to face with the very obstacles others have faced when he was once the obstructionist . This is Watanabe's attempt to make amends for his own past . This is not only Kurosawa's greatest film , but the greatest film ever . There are no shoot-outs , explosions or car chases . This film is a simple reminder to those of us who are willing to take the time to see what Kurosawa is attempting to show us : That life is short . And that what we do with our lives matters . How many of us , like the protagonist Kanji Watanabe are alive , but have not lived life ? Do we put off visting our loved ones ? Are we just going through the motions of life ? Or are we living a life of quality ? And yes , our dear protagonist Mr . Watanabe does succeed in the end at making a contribution , no matter how small . And Takashi Shimura's character does succeed in giving some meaning to his short life and existence - - his way of contributing , no matter how small , to those in his community . I first watched this film in 1977 , and I never tire of viewing it again and again . There is not a scene in the film that I cannot recall . This is a heartfelt film , and Takashi Shimura [ His greatest role ] plays his part in the film with such outstanding humility , that we the viewer come to empathize with him . I have never forgotten the part where he sings , both in the drinking establishment , and at the end of the film ; swinging in the now finished children's playground : So haunting , and yet so beautiful . This film puts what's really important in life into perspective . Life is too short , make the best of it . And more importantly , live your life as if each day were the last . There are not enough stars to give this great classic . [ Stars : 5 + + + + + ]
    • 002 4  Since others have written lengthy , intelligent reviews ( And I'm glad they did ) I will use my space to be simple . The film , at its most basic level , is about redemption , living ( Ikiru is To Live in english ) and dying , and what matters most to really make a difference in your life , and the lives of others . The film is quiet yet utterly powerful , a basic study of a man trying to find meaning in his last days . But it's so much more than that , and I can only describe the film and its purpose as noble , genuine , warm , moving , and beautiful . It is not a sappy , happy movie , but it's so quietly affecting that I'm a grown man who is still reduced to tears seeing the pivotal swing scene that is on the movie's cover . What is happening in that scene , what it means , what it represents , and what is being said during the shot , is , to me , just about the most hauntingly moving scene I've ever witnessed . And I will remember it forever , as well as all of Ikiru , as a poignant , sad yet triumphant example of the human spirit to really persevere and make a wonderful difference .
    • 003 4  This is a humble film with the soul of an angel . It isn't about a life so much as it is about the act of living . This film , in its quiet way , asks us to ponder what makes life meaningful . And it argues that our pursuit of life's quantity is misplaced , because it leads to neglect of life's quality . It tells the story of a dying man's last days . Kanji Watanabe is a lifelong cog in a vast bureaucratic machine who has wasted his entire life shuffling papers . He is played by Takashi Shimura in one of the finest understated performances ever committed to film . Shot in black and white , it is melancholic , bleak and subdued . Likely , Kurosawa chose to film in black and white to reflect the starkness of the protagonist's last days ; the way the world looks through dying eyes ; and it works . It is the mark of Kurosawa's genius how the story and the character sneak up on us . At first , Mr . Watanabe seems an uninspiring study , hardly worthy of our sympathy . A small meek fragile man , he almost stoops under the weight of his own life . He learns of his illness in a well-known opening scene that combines pathos with cruel irony , and before we know it , we start to care about this little man who life treads so callously underfoot . What at first looks like lack of courage reveals itself to be lack of motivation . What we take to be a spineless career of dull conformity turns out to be a sacrifice made for the sake of an unappreciative son . This film has layers and subtlety and visual poetry presented with understatement , finesse and restraint : a wonderful combination that shows the deepest respect for the intelligence of the audience . The moral turning point in the story is reached when Mr Watanabe determines to accomplish one worthwhile achievement before his life ends . We don't realize how involved we have become in this little man's life until we find ourselves mentally urging him onward to overcome every bureaucratic obstacle he encounters . Not so long ago , with the prospect of a long life still stretched out before him , he was one of the very bureaucrats whose job it was to obstruct and confound just such aspirations . Now , with barely months to live , he makes it his duty to champion them . This turn of events is one of the most touching acts of redemption in all of cinema . By making amends for an unworthy past , an ordinary everyman finds life's meaning in his very last act of living . I have watched hundreds of films since Ikiru , but there are scenes from this film that have burned themselves into my heart and are as clear today as the moment I first saw them . This occurs not because the director achieved an especially vivid special effect , but because of how deeply we come to care for our little hero . The famous scene at the end is one of the most dignified and gracious artistic statements ever filmed , yet it is a scene of wounding simplicity : a perfect epitaph to a cinematic elegy . Kurosawa was one of the greatest of all filmmakers and this was his best and most personal film . It's a crime that his work is known only among the literati of the film world , and not to a wider audience . I cannot promise you that you will like this film , because it is paced with a measured and quiet deliberation that is utterly foreign to those raised on a western diet of car crashes , yammering idiots and pixie dust . You need patience , introspection and empathy to appreciate this gentle masterpiece , but if you are the kind of person who is moved by pity , tenderness , humility and grace , then I envy you your first viewing of this ode to the human spirit .
    • 004 4  Ikiru , to my mind , may be the greatest film in the canon of one of the cinema's greatest directors . It is one of the most spiritually engaging films I have ever seen , and one that reveals new insights each time I watch it . The Japanese word ikiru is a verb meaning to live , and provides a very concise summary of what this film is about . Kurosawa's subject is nothing less than the meaning of life itself , and how we obscure that meaning through the thoughtlessness of our daily actions , our isolation from other human beings , and the misperceptions affecting the limited relations we do have with others . Through his depiction of a crisis in the life of his protagonist , Kurosawa challenges us to examine our own assumptions about life and happiness . * * * * * * In Ikiru , we meet Kanji Watanabe , a public official with no passion for his work duties . A narrator informs us that Watanabe has been more dead than alive for some time now , and simply goes through the motions at his job . His desk contains an enormous stack of petitions and requests from the public , along with various forms and memos . Watanabe doesn't seem interested in reducing the size of this mountain of paperwork . When he opens his desk drawer , we see a document entitled A Plan to Raise Office Efficiency . He tears off the first page of the plan and uses it to clean his glasses , finally throwing the crumpled paper into his trashcan . As we watch Watanabe's barely conscious attempts to do his job , the narrator asks us if this type of detachment is morally acceptable . As the film unfolds , we learn that Watanabe's zombie-like activities at the office are only part of his problems . He lives with his son and his son's wife , and seems to have a strained relationship with both of them . After Watanabe discovers that he has cancer , the awareness of his pending mortality causes him to sense the meaninglessness of his life for the first time . Determined to escape from his depression , Watanabe makes various attempts to live . Overtures toward his son and daughter-in-law fall flat . He makes the acquaintance of a young writer , and his new companion tries to cheer him up by taking him out to experience a few cheap thrills . They go to bars , nightclubs , and strip shows , but Watanabe is unable to overcome the feelings of utter hopelessness inside him . As the film progresses , we gradually learn the details of Watanabe's final quest for meaning . * * * * * * Ikiru is a fascinating and unique film on many levels . The nonlinear use of time and the circular structure used to catch all of Watanabe's coworkers shirking their responsibilities are used to great advantage . For instance , Kurosawa cuts from Watanabe's desk to the desks of all of his coworkers and then back again to show that he is part of a culture of denial and apathy that distinguishes his office as a whole . The circular structure also neatly and humorously summarizes the vicious circle of bureaucracy , and shows the surprising amount of time wasted in this fashion . What at first seems to be a relatively short time interval spent between one employee's refusal to accept the complaint and the next turns out to be much longer - so long that Watanabe has apparently left his desk long ago and hasn't been back . This sequence sets up the next scene , in which we will learn of Watanabe's cancer and way it begins causing him to look more critically at the environment of apathy we have just witnessed . This movie also expertly examines some of the meanings of life common in contemporary culture . To the young writer Watanabe meets in the bar , the meaning of life is literally found in wine , women and song . He fails to understand that Watanabe needs something deeper than pleasures of the flesh . What then is Watanabe's problem ? One interpretation of the film maintains that Watanabe must come to realize that he alone is responsible for the choices he makes in his life . We may call this the existentialist interpretation of the film . According to some existentialists , the film tells us that ` life ' is meaningless when everything is said and done ; at the same time one man's life can acquire meaning when he undertakes to perform some task that to him is meaningful . This interpretation of Ikiru conjures memories of Albert Camus ' classic existentialist riff on humanity in The Myth of Sisyphus . That is , all of us must push our boulders up the hill of life repeatedly , only to have them roll back down again , but we can find meaning in even the most repetitious and purposeless circumstances if we try . Ultimately , however , I think the existentialist reading fails to account for the full meaning of Watanabe's spiritual crisis and eventual rebirth . It is true that Watanabe needs to look more deeply into his life and disregard the ways others perceive his actions . But I don't think Kurosawa's thesis is that life is inherently meaningless until we resolve to perform tasks that are meaningful to us . The existentialist interpretation begs the question of why Watanabe was not able to find meaning in the nihilist ecstasy championed by the young writer , or in the company of a young girl . Kurosawa's point seems to be that these kinds of actions inherently cannot bring fulfillment to our lives . So it isn't just a matter of being able to choose meanings wherever we see fit . Only certain types of thoughts and actions seem to be capable of rendering true meaning . In this regard , Kurosawa has much in common with the great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky , a writer initially embraced but finally rejected by many existentialists ( especially Camus ) . Dostoevky best expressed his philosophy of life in his last and greatest book , The Brothers Karamazov . The central theme of Karamazov is that all people are guilty before all others , because all of our ideas and actions affect the lives of others , and the ideas and actions of others affect our lives . This means that we are all responsible for each other . Instead of asking why life seems to be meaningless , we should therefore ask whether our own thoughts and actions lessen or increase the sense of meaning in the world - whether we add or subtract from the sum of human suffering . Kurosawa adapted Doestevsky's novel The Idiot immediately prior to making Ikiru , and considered Dostoevsky a major influence throughout his career . He also considered Ikiru to be most Dostoevskyan of all his films . In light of these facts , we can begin to see Ikiru as an exploration of the Dostoevskyan concept of shared responsibility , and the liberation from despair it entails when properly understood . In the world of Ikiru , isolation reigns supreme . Each department in Watanabe's public works office is an island unto itself , and will not assume responsibility for a single project . As we have seen , they refer the complaint about the sump from one desk to another in an endless cycle of buerocratic duty shirking . Watanabe drives home this point after his spiritual awakening , when he tells his coworkers that all of the departments must work together in order to fulfill their responsibility toward the public . He awakens to the realization that his actions can make a difference , because each human life intersects with every other . * * * * At a recent special screening of Ikiru , Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Wilmington discussed the shadow of death that hangs over the film . Legendary writer Studs Turkel , who was also present at the screening , gave the appropriate reply : It's about death you say ? But , of course , it's about life . In the final analysis , I think Studs is right . After all , the name Ikiru does mean to live , and that can't be an accident . The film is a beautiful and insightful reminder that none of us are truly alone if we recognize our responsibility to others who share the world with us . At a time when world events make us feel scared , threatened and isolated , we may need this message more than ever before .
    • 005 4  With only a year to live , Kanji Watanabe examines his life to discover that it has been a waste of time . His son , his presumed reason for working the same boring job for the last thirty years , has married and , although still living with the father , has drawn away from him , such that conversation is minimal and awkward , to the extent that Kanji is unable to tell him about his terminal cancer . For the most part , Kanji's work as the chief at city hall fills his life , but does nothing to fulfill it - - the work itself is meaninglessly mired in bureaucracy such that nothing ever really gets done , and certainly nothing of significance . In fact , the work has killed his sense of determination and initiative ; it's boring . So what does Kanji do ? He skips work and tries to find meaning for his life , first in alcohol and all the partying that goes with it , and then in the company of a young lady who after one and half years at city hall is resigning her position because it's boring . She represents perhaps the attitude he should have embraced at an earlier age . But neither the alcohol nor his attraction to this youthful spirit are able to replace the void of despair and regret inside him , residing along with the cancer . He wants desperately to live , but doesn't know how . Ikiru should rank as one of the most important films that examines the human life . Director Akira Kurosawa blends so many moments in this film that have remained with me , including the reflective scene in the bar where Kanji and a young writer ( a young Kurosawa ? ) quietly talk to each other in close-up , the writer acknowledging the elder's plight , finding meaning in his despair : Man finds truth in misfortune . Takashi Shimura ( also in Kurosawa's Rashomon and The Seven Samurai ) gives an incredible performance . It's not easy to convey regret through facial expression , but he does it so believably that you become overwhelmed by his pain . The scene toward the end with him on the swing is one of those moments from the movies that you never forget . Don't rent this film , buy it . Keep it and watch it at least once a year . Maybe it won't make a difference , maybe it won't cause you or me to adopt Kanji's it's-never-too-late , deferential and fanatical perseverance in pushing through something of significance to better humanity , but at least it will keep reminding us to .
    • 006 4  Ikiru ( to live ) This is an extremely passionate film that is small in scope but enormous in heart . It touches on a simple thought that resonates beyond any mundane everyday notions and asks a lofty question - - Are you living your life to the fullest ? It beautifully explores this question without being haughty or pretentious . I imagine this is Akiru's most emotionally entrancing and thought provoking film . It's definitely not his most visually impressive or action packed work , but perhaps it's his most personal . Imagine finding out you have six months to live . That stark realization comes crashing down on this main character , played with subtle precision by Takashi Shimura . As the panic sets in , he is forced to contemplate many important things . He realizes how little he has done with his time here on earth . So he sets off on an important journey to reclaim the life he's wasted . This story is a strong reminder that everyone should be able to relate to . It stresses the importance of the little things in life , and not to take things for granted . You'll soon realize this message is actually not small in scope at all . Such a moving tale , highly recommended .
    • 007 4  I'd say the film is more an answer to Mr . Smith Goes to Washington than to It's Wonderful Life as the plot centers on a man's final efforts , shortly before he will die of cancer , to regain his humanity and use his bureaucratic office to build a park in an poor urban area . Hardly a melodrama or weepie , this very moving , thoughtful film takes a highly unusal narrative turn about two-thirds of the way , and Kurosawa explores both critical and celebratory views of the hero , Watabanbe's successful efforts to get the park bult . The last third of the fim is informed by an unsentimental realism that goes far beyond much of the darkest cynicism of Hollywood film noir . But the final shot , which recalls an earlier beautiful shot of the film , holds out some hope that things will change even while aknowledging that there is little reason to hope that one man's efforts will change anything much . It's a long film , but my wife and I found it extremely engaging . This extremely memorable film is a treasure , and I am grateful to Criterion for releasing it on such a splendid DVD .
    • 008 4  I agree with all the other reviews which have discussed Ikiru in terms of its message for the individual : live your life with meaning and purpose , take pleasure in helping others , cherish and nurture children . However , there is one other aspect that I'd like to highlight : Kurosawa's thoughts on the individual and society . As the commentary by Stephen Prince makes clear , one of the main points behind Kurosawa's work was a head-on critique of Japanese society in the immediate post-war era . Although this period laid the foundation for Japan's economic recovery , Kurosawa is not alone in pointing out that the drive for economic prosperity was accomplished at huge human and spiritual cost . This idea is also one of the prime motivators behind the work of other Japanese artists from humanists like Hayao Miyazaki ( Spirited Away , Princess Mononoke ) to the lunatic right as exemplified by Mishima . Kurosawa uses Watanabe Kenji as a foil to expose the hypocrisy and selfishness of a society that values materialism and order above humanity and mindfulness . On the one hand , as most of the other reviewers have pointed out , Kurosawa condemns the way the bureaucratic small-mindedness of government stifles any real concern for the well-being of ordinary people . On the other , Watanabe's son and daughter-in-law embody the new age's impatience with its elders and their inability to see beyond their own concerns even when the people around them are clearly in crisis . A number of people have complained about the length of the second half of the movie , but ( as Prince's commentary again makes clear ) , the flashbacks are important to establish a stronger sense of Watanabe's co-workers as characters both to illustrate their gradual understanding of the meaning of Watanabe's life but also to highlight their inability to really follow his example . Kurosawa's view of society is pretty cynical when you come right down to it . Even though many of his works are celebrations of individual creativity and spirit , he is also forthright about the forces arrayed against it : small-mindedness , fear of making mistakes , greed and the herd mentality . It's no wonder that he has often been accused of being un-Japanese . One can also see this thread in Kurosawa's later movies including his period pieces such as Seven Samurai and Kagemusha : in both of these films , the ordinary folks and the high and mighty are also found wanting as groups . While there may be individuals of principle , they will not prevail in the end . But , and Kurosawa makes this point in each of his movies , the efforts of such individuals are the true definition of nobility of spirit , and it is this message which provides the power behind all of his works . This is a wonderful piece of movie making . It is humanism at its most trenchant and finest . You must see this film , it is one of the best movies of all time .
    • 010 4  One warning , from the beginning , this film is slow . This is not an action film , if you want that , rent Die Hard . However , this is perhaps one of the most touching films I have ever seen . I love Akira Kurosawa , but this is his only film that brought me to tears . . . big sloppy sobs etc . A story about life , and how it can be wasted , this is one of the most vivid films I have ever viewed , and it really hits home to me . If you want a film that will really challenge you , and how you have been spending your life , pick this one up today . Technically , the film is a masterpiece . Kurosawa heightens the mood with his bleak imagery and long takes . . . this may be one of the finer examples of Kurosawa's camera genius . Somehow his films are always so unique , so different in their cinematography from any contemporary works , that they stick in my mind long after I have finished viewing them . As much as I love his samurai epics , this may well be my very favorite Kurosawa film , and I believe it has really been overlooked . Don't waste a minute , buy or rent this one today , and see if you don't end up agreeing with me .
    • 011 4  When I had seen this movie a mere ten or so times already , I insisted my friends from Japan watch it with me . They protested because the film is old . One said , My grandmother was young when that movie came out - - that's how old it is . But since I insisted , they watched , and mid-movie they actually turned to me with tears streaming down their faces saying it was the greatest movie they had ever seen . I don't usually review movies , or read movie reviews , but do love watching them - - much more so than television . This movie is personal to me . I've seen it over twenty times - - since way back before DVD even existed - - even though the movie is from way beck before I existed . It's full of common heros and common villans . You will find yourself somewhere amongst the characters , feeling and thinking as they feel , and perhaps being reformed by what happens in the movie - - which I wont give you even a hint about because that's one of the chief reasons I do not read movie reviews . Besides , if I told you the basic story line , you might think it sounds boring and not watch it ; whereas if you do watch it , I am sure you will be deeply touched and perhaps overhaul at least some aspect of the way you Live as a result - - which happens to be the meaning of the title Ikiru . Note that I recommend you go with subtitles instead of voice over if you don't understand Japanese - - as I didn't when I first saw this film , but have become fluent in since . There's no substitute for the voices and sounds of the people and places in this film ; this is not a kung fu movie , where everything is action and expression . Everything in the movie is very vivid to the senses , and your imagination will more than make up for whatever lapse in understanding the dialogue . BOTTOM LINE : The best movie I have ever seen . Beyond anyone's ability to describe in way that wont cause you to miss it .
    • 012 4  This is only one of two or three films that actually made me cry . Incredibly gentle , touching affirmation of life . This is the real deal , not trumped up Hollywood trash . What I mean is , this rings true and loud to real life . When the main character Watanabe , finds out he has cancer and details with pinpoint clarity the exact manner in which he has wasted his life . . . well , needless to say , this old boy was truly moved .
    • 013 4  Ikiru is an emotionally potent , ultimately devastating picture that prove that cinematic art isn't an oxymoron . As with many Kurosawa films , one runs the risk of overusing superlatives when trying to describe the effect of watching this movie for the first time . The acting , cinematography , pacing , thematic elements , script , dialogue , intelligence , emotional pitch , and humor in the film are all near-perfect ; one would have to search fairly hard to find anything to complain about ( perhaps the partying scene drags on a few minutes too long ? ) . So I'll just say Watch it and point out the most obvious strength - the dual climax of an ending . Who other than Kurosawa would follow one of the most touching scenes in film history with one of the most bitter - almost nihilistic - codas imaginable ? Who would even think of using the inspirational story of one man's struggle to give his empty life meaning to point out the unfailing ( and apparently permanent ) passive destruction wreaked by a bureaucratic society ? So perhaps the most impressive feature of the film is its ability to inspire even while ackowledging the dearth of humanity in modern society . Never has a film been more idealistic in its presentation of one man's ability to find fulfillment in giving to others , and never has a film been more cynical in its portrayal of one man's ultimate inability to inspire any lasting change in a corrupt culture . While only loosely adapting from Dostoyevsky's source novel , AK perfectly captures the Russian's spirit , that immediately identifiable blend of savage satire and melancholy idealism that ran throughout the author's work ( most notably in The Idiot , not surprisingly another novel AK had previously adapted ) . Along with epilepsy and alcoholism , Dostoyevsky and Kurosawa shared this sensibility , this powerful belief that the world could be a decent place if people would just make the slightest humanitarian effort , combined with a kind of quiet rage when faced with the reality that humanity as a whole simply will not ever make that effort . Never have these entwined themes been so powerfully expressed on film as they are in Ikiru .
    • 015 4  Akira Kurosawa made Rashomon in 1950 , Ikiru in 1952 and The Seven Samurai in 1954 . All these films have quite a complex structure . Yet Ikiru remains a very simple film , which says nothing original : it's not what is shown , but how , that is important , as in Flaubert's story A Simple Heart . It will be appreciated best by those who've realised they're going to die ( you'll know what I mean ) . Watching Ozu's Tokyo Story beforehand will prepare you for the subtle style . In Ikiru five themes are interwoven : 1 . Learning to accept death At the start of the film Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) learns he has stomach cancer and has six months to live . He has retreated into his work after his wife's early death and become devoted to routine . The camera shows us several shots in closeup of Shimura's face after he speaks to his doctor , and we see the anguish in his eyes . It's not fear he shows : it's horror , horror of what his life has become . The shock of his wife's death has caused him to stop living . The shock of his own coming death makes him realise he must start to live : only then will he be ready to die . There is a contrast in the documentary style depiction of the hospital scenes and Watanabe's office compared with the closeups of Shimura , hunched up with horrified realisation or showing eyes that are black pools of despair . This is the hardest thing to do in any art form : this is simplicity , and the effect is overwhelming , the acting superb . 2 . Placing value in your life Watanabe has not much expertise in how to live . His son Mitsuo ( Nobuo Kaneko ) and daughter-in-law Kazue ( Kyoko Seki ) share his home but not much else . Watanabe cannot speak to them about his cancer . Cast out on his own resources , Watanabe tells a complete stranger ( Yunosuke Ito ) what he could not tell his son . He asks his burning question , how can I live ? The two drunken men go and sample what they imagine is life : drinking shops , reviews , dance halls , strip clubs . This is desperate living , another way of dying . Watanabe brings the whole thing to a halt when he requests a pianist to play an old song , and sings the words , about young girls who fall in love and how they should enjoy that love for life is short . Perhaps it was a favourite of he and his wife when they first met . The melody is haunting , and is Watanabe's theme at several key points in the film . Later Watanabe sees Toyo ( Miki Odagiri ) one of his office colleagues . Watanabe is exhilarated by her joyous love of life , her enthusiasm , even her appetite . Perhaps she will teach him how to live . She teaches him he cannot live by proxy . Watanabe finally discovers fulfillment in doing good for others by using his position at work . Kurosawa opens out the sets progressively . We see the small rooms of Watanabe's house , then the cafe and dance hall scenes at night , then the streets and shops by day , then finally offices , streets and slums as Watanabe moves between the company of government heads of departments , yakuza trying to extort money from them , fellow bureaucrats , workmen and slum dwellers in his quest to have a children's park built . Giving meaning to your life is within everyone's scope , no matter how narrow that scope may be , and enlarges it . There is a touch of the moralist here , but we are liable to forget it as we watch Shimura , small , fragile , bowed over with pain , absolutely determined to make others respond . And they do . 3 . The dangers of grief How did Watanabe become the man he is ? In his bedroom is a photo of a young , attractive woman , his wife . In a flashback sequence we see her funeral , learn she died unexpectedly when her son was only five or six years old . The beautiful has vanished . This is a theme with haunting overtones in Japanese culture . That power , greatness , beauty is transient can teach us how to live more deeply . But Watanabe has given the dead woman his love and now he cannot stop grieving . In Watanabe's bedroom the photo is next to his citation for exemplary attendance at work . In the funeral car Watanabe watches as the hearse draws further away from him : it's a distance he has tried to deny ever since . 4 . The entropy inherent in large structures Watanabe started his bureaucratic life with ambitions to reform . His idealistic report is mouldering away in a bottom drawer . But he's working in a place where the only activity is the filling out of reports , not the achieving of change . It's a kind of tomb . Here no one will accept responsibility ; anything unusual , such as the request of a group of neighborhood mothers that a swamp be filled and made into a playground , is frantically passed on to another department . This is not merely satire . The government , of the country as of the local region , is behaving as Watanabe , withdrawing from living and substituting empty formalism in its place . It is no accident Watanabe is head of a department . If we want to we can ask , is it my problem too ? The moralist is much more in evidence here . 5 . The political response we have to others ' actions That Watanabe is not the entire subject of the film is made clear as his death occurs halfway through it . We see the Buddhist wake . The guests at the wake at first give lip service to Watanabe's virtues , then the politicians among them compete for the credit of building the park . The workers in Watanabe's department discuss who will be the next head . The group of petitioners are admitted to pay their respects . They say nothing ; but they are grateful . In Japan it matters how the dead are thought of . Kurosawa shows that all the survivors , even the grief stricken , are motivated by personal considerations . He shows this to be natural and inevitable , while satirising more extreme manifestations of it . The mourners cannot give meaning to their life by praising Watanabe though ; they will need to strive as hard as Watanabe had : most of them won't . There is a social dimension of our actions , as of our inactions . Kurosawa wants viewers of his film to be at that wake too , and reflect on what Watanabe's life and death meant . Watanabe dies in his playground . He sits on a swing , and sings his song of young girls who fall in love . It is snowing . Watanabe is happy , not because of the playground , not because of the song . He has found something vital . What makes Ikiru an important film is that viewers who watch it can understand just what he has found .
    • 016 4  There are good , very good , and even great movies . But among them there are just a few that go beyond great . They belong to the league of their own . Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru ( To Live ) , 1952 is one of them . The film of rare humanity , profoundly moving and often funny Ikiru tells the story of a dying man's last crusade that turned out to be his triumph , the best thing he had ever done in his life ; something he will be remembered for . The film reveals both absurdity of life and the ability of man to find meaning in it through selfless action . Two years before he played the tough lead in Seven Samurai , Takashi Shimara gave even finer performance in a very different role as a government bureaucrat Kanji Watanabe who seemed to lead a life of quiet desperation at his job and at home . Then , he learns that he has terminal cancer and faced with the fact of death , he first tries to take from life as much as possible and spends the half of his savings on gambling , drinking and women . It leads him nowhere and gradually he determines to achieve one good thing before he dies , and settles on converting a junkyard into a playground for children . Rather than make a feel good movie with co-workers helping Kanji Watanabe in his quest and his family around him at his last moment , Kurosawa portrays him as a lonely crusader - no one can understand why this park is so important to him . The answer is very simple - he does not have time and he wants to live to see the park open . His family and co-workers don't even know how ill he is what makes some scenes even more powerful and poignant . His words , I am not angry with anyone , I have no time for that ; the look at his face when asked by a mafia member if he did not care for his life - the film has many quiet but compelling moments like these . For me , watching Ikiru was as close to earth shattering experience as it goes . I think it is one of very few films that could really change one's life . I could not help comparing it to Cries and Whispers - how devastated I was by the theme of inevitable death , how ugly it is , and how helpless we all are while facing it . Ikiru is about a dying man , too but how hopeful and life affirming it is . The film did not tell or teach me something I had not known before but it confirmed once more that it is never too late to do something even if you have only few months to live .
    • 017 4  This film is all about character . Do not expect any great action scenes or otherwise exciting angst . However , if you do like watching a film for character development or storyline , this is perfect for you . Starring the great Takashi Shimura ( some might know him best as the lead samurai in Seven Samurai ) as a government officer who discovers one day he doesn't have much longer to live . He suddenly realizes how much he's wasted on his life and at first attempts to remedy this by visiting the hot spots of city life and spending time with a young girl from his office . He then realizes the best way to finish his life is to leave a legacy itself , and joins the crusade for a community project . In some ways it's almost like a Japanese It's a Wonderful Life except with out angels . The first time you watch this it might be slow , but once you watch it again you realize how every thing fits together and the characters ' actions become more fleshed out . Kurosawa often worked with such character studies that showed the different emotions of mankind in their different situations ; Ikiru is perhaps his most perfect effort into this .
    • 018 4  I was lucky enough to catch Ikiru on one of my calm I wanna watch a slow movie days . Usually I'm bouncing off the walls and watching a crazy action flick . I can certainly understand that this might not be a movie for everyone because it can be a little slow and quiet . So if slow and quiet isn't your style then you may not want to pick this up . This being a Kurosawa film it will definitely draw some attention and trust me it is worthy of his direction . Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) is a middle-aged man who has been living a dull meaningless life . He has worked the same job for years and has to come home to a son who just seems to be waiting for him to die . Kanji finds out that he has stomach cancer and is told that he has less than a year to live . This strikes something in his mind , that he needs to start living instead doing the same things everyday . Because of this disease Kanji tries to live life as if he were young and full of life . He even tries to drink his sorrows away while explaining his newfound sickness . Kanji meets a young girl who he admires because of her youth and joy . Because of her she inspires him to do something big before he dies . He sets his sights on building the community and fixes up old broken down playgrounds among other things . He does what he can and lives right down to his very last minute . Ikiru has good quality coming from all elements of a good film not just one thing . Even the old black and white picture adds some emotion to the film . The story itself is timeless and is one that may appear to many people in their life . I think what really gives this film that extra something is the acting from Takashi Shimura who made this character very realistic . He had a look on his face for the entire film that showed pain and his age and fear of his future . His face looked as if death was sitting right next to him waiting for him to fold up and stop living before he even died . There was never a time where you forgot that he was this character . As I said earlier the films black and white picture added a lot to the films feeling it wanted to give you and when you watch it you'll understand . I saw no flaws in Ikiru and it is definitely a must see especially if you love the work of Takashi Shimura and Akira Kurosawa .
    • 019 4  Ikiru ( To Live ) is a chilling depiction of the film's hero , Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) , a civil servant , who works in the city office as the Chief clerk . After receiving a medical examination , he discovers that he has gastric cancer in spite of the fact that the doctor informs him that it's merely a mild ulcer . Watanabe seeks guidance on how to spend his entire life savings . He promotes a novelist ( Yunesuke Ito ) to take him on a bar and club excursion in order to escape from headiness on his that was weighing on his mind . Only after befriending a former employee ( Miki Odagiri ) who makes toy bunnies for children , he soon decides that he has to do something meaningful for the remaining part of his life - to approve plans to build a city park . This film is gripping in that it relates to the somewhat disillusionment and hope that many Japanese experienced after World War II . The main theme of the film deals with full disclosure or in simple terms , the truth . This assessment may be seen within the film as Watanabe keeps his knowledge of his illness to himself as a way to preserve his life . As he proceeds from day to day , the unbearable ness takes a toll . IRIKURU shows that despite social and cultural differences , individuals deal with unpleasant situations in the same way . Director Akiru Kurosawa was one of the most legendary directors in Japanese film history , and the accompanying screenplay by Kurosawa , Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Oguni is the most relevant aspect of the film . The cinematography is impeccable and reveals the emotions and actions of the actors . The film is dark and ironic at times - Watanabe's somewhat groaning chant of an old twenties ballad , Fall in love , dear maiden . . . is quiet haunting , but Kurosawa manages to allude to the viewer that a little bit of humor in the midst of death offers a sense of realism to the conscience . No doubt , the film is a great achievement and should be viewed by film buffs or anyone interested in humanistic films without being too sentimental . IKIRU stands as a testament to the human spirit .
    • 020 4  Imagine you found out you were going to die in a few months . What would you do ? What would you decide mattered to you ? What would you think you had accomplished ? What would you consider left unaccomplished ? What would you want your legacy to be ? Those are the questions facing the centeral character in Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru ( meaning To live ) . The brilliant actor Takashi Shimura plays the role of Kanji Watanabe , a midlevel bureaucrat who has spent his entire career doing little more than protecting his own job by looking busy while actually accomplishing little . One day this man learns he has terminal cancer and will soon die . This revelation makes him start reviewing his life , and he concludes he has done nothing worthwhile . He tries to live it up with newfound friends and loose women , but this does not fulfill him . He cannot bring himself to tell his own son and daughter-in-law about his fate ; caught up in their own petty problems , they seem to have little time for the old man . Eventually he meet a kind of kindred spirit , another worker at the bureaucracy who is quitting her job because she too feels she is doing nothing useful . But even she cannot help this poor man who needs love , fulfillment , a sense of purpose . And so Watanabe finds his own reason to go on through his final days , a reason centered around doing genuine good , regardless of the chance of reward . After he dies the glory all goes to lesser bureaucrats who , while previously fighting him every step of the way , now bask in the spotlight and claim the glory , paying him much lip service while denying him true honor . Normally I don't give so detailed a plot description , but I've done so here for two reasons : 1 ) few people , particularly in America , have seen or even heard of this movie , and 2 ) I want to point out how universal the themes are , how this movie could easily be remade today in any other country with any other culture and any other cast . While watching Ikiru I kept thinking a good modern title might be , The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same . Like so many Kurosawa films , this movie , though black and white and old , feels completely contemporary in its concerns and its content . While much has been made of Kurosawa's concern with the Japanese conflict between collective and individual , the issues in Ikiru resonates with any culture , not just Japan's . These bureacrats sound like the bureaucrats with which we all are familiar . This is a very deep film , filled with themes of existentialism that movies rarely tackle . It asks the biggest questions that can be asked of a life . At the same time , it never feels pretentious or preachy . The story is complex , not in terms of plot twists , but in terms of its inner life . Yet with a running time of two hours and 23 minutes , Ikiru moves very quickly , feeling faster than a typical 90 - minute Hollywood film . This is probably because there is lots of ground to cover , and also because of the effortless acting . Takashi Shimura's performance as Watanabe is one of the greatest of cinema . Though Shimura is not widely known in the west , he was one of Japan's major actors of the 1950s and 60s , and Kurosawa worked with him often . See him in Kurosawa's Seven Samuri , made just two years after this film , for a completely different performance , one of swagger and bravado . Other cast members are also outstanding , especially Miki Odagiri as a young female coworker . She too feels straitjacketed by her job as a government paper-pusher , but she is young and not tied down by responsibility and so she leaves . On a sort of date with Watanabe she confides that she has humorous names for everyone in the department based on how they behave , and that his is The Mummy . Rather than be offended , he agrees with her and this insight helps to shape his vision of himself and what he must do to be redeemed . It's hard to believe the same director who made such beautifully-composed samurai films also could direct contemporary dramas that look as effortless as this . Yet the film , or the third act of it , also reminded me of a very different motion picture - - Citizen Kane , believe it or not . While stylistically the two masterpieces have little in common , both deal with a man , recently dead , who is being pieced together by those who knew him partially . They try to make sense of his actions without ever getting the full picture , while we , as the omniscent audience , do . They misunderstand his actions , and ascribe many to selfishness when they were actually exactly the opposite . ( Often with Kane the reverse is true . ) The only difference is while Watanabe is fundamentally a sympathetic character , Kane is not . Also , Kurosawa manages to tell his story without flashy technique or set pieces . Ikiru also strangely foreshadows the life of a real Japanese hero of the second part of the 20th century , Yutaka Katayama ( or Mr . K , as he was called by many ) . Katayama was the head of Nissan Motor's West Coast division in North America in the 1960s and 70s . He was brought to the task when Nissan was a piddly carmaker of no consequence , especially in North America , which was then ruled by big , powerful Ford and GM cars . Though Katayama was not motivated by the thought of his impending death , he was hard-working and wanted to succeed in America , which he did through steady , unflagging determination . But he also went against the grain of Japanese business protocol , and encountered the wrath of his superiors in Tokyo . Ironically , the more successful he became , the more he was resented . ( His far less aggressive and successful counterpart on the east coast was more highly regarded by the Japanese bosses . ) After establishing Nissan as a major player in America , Katayama was unceremoniously retired as superiors moved in and took credit for his work . He died in obscurity , but today Mr . K is a revered figure at Nissan , and was even used in an advertising campaign several years ago . Executives now dislocate their jaws praising him . It all sounds too familiar . The second DVD has two features , a 90 minute documentary from Kurosawa's own production company about his working methods , wherein he discusses everything from writing scripts to editing the final product ; and a 40 - minute feature about making Ikiru , with cast and crew interviews . Both docs are excellent and you will watch Ikiru with more intelligence after you see them . There's also the film's trailer and a commentary track which I confess I haven't had time to listen to . It's by Stephen Prince , author of The Warrior's Camera : The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa . Criterion once again is the standard to which all DVD makers should be aspiring . The print , while scratched and battered a bit with age , is as good as we're likely to see . It's unfortunate that for many years Kurosawa's work was not better taken care of . Like Nissan's Mr . K , he was without honor in his own country , because he was considered too Western in his outlook . Like Mr . K , his name now evokes nothing but praise in his homeland . Fortunately , the work of this Mr . K is finally being preserved . Ikiru is a film you should investigate even if you've never seen a Japanese movie before , even if you've never heard of Akira Kurosawa , even if you hate foreign or black and white films , even if you think you have no interest in the subject . Because that subject is in fact very modern and universal , and you will quickly be swept away by the relevance of the story . Ikiru is the very dictionary definition of the term timeless classic .
    • 021 4  This is a stately , majestic masterpiece of world cinema . My parents first took me to it at the age of 5 or 6 , and a few images stuck with me forever . Watanabe is a colorless , boring civil servant who has put in his time at the city offices for 35 years . . . and then learns he has but a few months to live . ( Ikiru means To Live . ) Over the next few weeks he tries everything he can think of to deal with this awful news - - taking out his cash and going on the town , trying to enjoy life with and through a much younger female subordinate , attempting to reconnect with his estranged son . . . . Takashi Shimura offers one of the great acting performances of all time . It's hard to believe this is the same man who leads The Seven Samurai a few years later ( never mind his hilarious cameo in the original Godzilla as a frightened peasant ) . Formally , the film is a fascinating study of plotting and film editing . ( What can you say about a movie whose opening shot is a stomach X-ray ? See Donald Richie's excellent book _ The Films of Akira Kurosawa _ for more in-depth discussion of this film's techniques . ) Be prepared to settle into this story . It's lengthy and not fast paced . If you can do this , you will be hugely rewarded .
    • 022 4  Though Akira Kurosawa is perhaps best-known for his samurai films ( YOJIMBO , SEVEN SAMURAI , as a couple of examples ) , IKIRU takes a detour from that theme and , for me , was one of the finest films he made . Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) is a public servant and has worked for the government for thirty years . His days consist of pushing papers around on his desk and adding a stamp of approval to a slew of documents . When he learns that he will soon succumb to untreatable stomach cancer , every aspect of his mundane existence is turned on its head . For so many years , this man has lived off to the side in his life and he doesn't have the time to do that anymore . His newly found attitude , that comes with the realization of his irreversible fate , leads to a multitude of life changes that those around him aren't sure what to make of . Ultimately , Watanabe's new approach to the world and what his part is on the earth manages to touch everyone around him ( for good or worse ) . This film co-stars Shinichi Himori and Haruo Tanaka . IKIRU shows a beautifully poignant side of Kurosawa , as a storyteller . We see a man in Watanabe that we probably all have encountered at some point ( maybe that man even exists within us ! ) . This individual has spent so many years as a cog in the wheel of life that he has put aside his emotions and true feelings just to get by without starting trouble . The beautiful cinematography in this story particularly well-showcases Watanabe's physical deterioration in the face of his illness . His eyes speak volumes about his physical pain , and yet he finds new-found strength to cling on to life in the wake of his last breaths in this world . This feeling of urgency is contrasted by moments of newly realized joy and gratitude . There are so many haunting moments , whether we are watching Watanabe interact with his white collar colleagues or breaking loose for a night on the town with a vagabond he encounters at a bar , the night that the two men really go out for a night on the town . This is a beautifully made film and really is timeless . I have a hard time believing that this was made in 1952 because it could have been released just yesterday . It is truly a fine depiction of the human condition and the fragility of the life with which we have been given .
    • 023 4  Ikiru ( Akira Kurosawa , 1952 ) I find Ikiru a very difficult film about which to wax lyrical . I'm not sure why this is , because the film begs praise ; it is a work of absolute brilliance in every respect , perhaps Kurosawa's ( if not the Japanese film industry's ) single finest moment . But how to explain why ? All I can do , all any of us can do , is lay it out for you . It takes Akira Kurosawa to make it come alive . Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) is the chief clerk in a department on Tokyo City Hall . He has worked there for thirty years , and accomplished nothing of note . As the film opens , we are told that he has gastric cancer , and will soon be dead . Soon enough , Watanabe himself finds this out ( more through the idle banter of another old man in the waiting room than his duplicitous doctor ) , and realizes that there has to be more to life than this . The rest of the film chronicles Watanabe's search to figure out how to live , and his quest's effect on those around him . The film would not be what it is without Takashi Shimura , who takes Kurosawa's script and turns a paper Watanabe into an amazing character , a man struggling to throw off the boundaries imposed upon him by job , culture , and family . Shimura's performance alone would be enough to make this an above-average film , but everyone here turns in fine performances . Kurosawa , of course , was a master director , and he shows it off here ; the movie is paced slowly enough to let us get to know Watanabe and those around him , but it never drags . ( Pretty amazing for a two and a half hour film about an existential crisis . ) I do find it amusing that a number of reviews I've read recently have commented on the film's feel-good factor . While it's there , and there's no doubt about that , I'm wondering how such an interpretation of the film fits in with the subtle , but devastating , final scene of the film . ( Obviously , I can't say what happens without giving away the whole thing , but trust me on this . ) This is a subject about which I'd love to wax lyrical , but I'm going to have to wait till you've all seen it . Let me know . * * * * *
    • 024 4  It is in that small amount of films that are perfect . This film has a simple plot , but tells an amazing story of a man . I'm sure anything I say has already been said in the other reviews . But this film has an image that you will never forget . It is hard not to cry every time I watch this film . It is that powerful . The Criterion DVD is the best there will ever be . For it's age it has a great image , and a good amount of extras . Remember , Criterion doesn't put useless special features on their DVD's . Expect the best . This is easily the finest character study ever put on film .
    • 025 4  I wathed Ikiru twice in two daya . This movie has a simple premise : a dying man tries to give meaning to his life . He longs for a connection with his distant son , he works at bureaucratic job that is all paper-shuffling . He decides to live out his last few months with meaning . At first , he issimply having fun and living through the expriences of others - - a novelist and a young female coworker with a zest for life . When he realizes that he can't live their lives , he tries to create his own purpose and meaning in the time e has left . A haunting song of his youth tells it all . When he reprises the song at the end , I daare anyone to have a dry eye ! Takashi Shimura is a wonderful actor ; his face is expressive and the viewer feels all his emotional pain . We suffer wth him and our hearts go out to him . We want a fairy-tale / Hollywood ending , but what we get is ultimately more satisfying . I cannot stop thinking of and talking about Ikiru . This is Akiro Kurosawa's best , and quickly became one of my favorite movies of all time . I recommend it most highly . Be warned that this is NOT a Samurai movie .
    • 026 4  The premise in life is to live life with meaning , leave some type of legacy , diminish the regrets we are burdened with so we can die in peace . This film is about that . If you are new to Kurosawa films , you might include viewing the excellent Commentary on this wonderful classic . Criterion has been consistent with producing some excellent informative commentary . But view it after you have seen the movie . Then , will you get a great insight into the complete work on this film , the setting with such attention to detail , the framing in shots , the story , the colorful characters , etc . Ikuru ( To Live ) , a lengthy 50 ' s film , is dramatic , sad , humorous and rewarding . An aging man , Watanabe , is dying of stomach cancer and believes that now he needs to live his life with some meaning . He has been at the same bureaucratic job for over 25 years , a widower , and he has missed landmark periods in his son's life , hence the distance with his son and son's wife . In his search for meaning , he encounters a writer who thinks he needs to party and live ! The writer takes him on a journey of drinking , women , nightclubs , etc . These scenes are magnificent , the cultures in different overcrowded clubs , But Watanabe is clearly uncomfortable in these surroundings . While he was out of work , a young female colleague comes to his house for a signature from him . He gradually spends some time with her , to the chagrin and disapproval of his family and he discovers she has LIFE in her . This is not an intimate love affair , but from her , he derives an inspiration he becomes passionate about and returns to work to devote his last days on a memorable mission . This film is superb ! ! ! . . . . MzRizz
    • 027 4  I wonder if it's a coincidence that Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 Tokyo Story and this 1952 masterwork from Akira Kurosawa were released just months apart in Japan , as both deal with the disappointments between parents and children in similarly penetrating ways . It's likely that post-WWII Japan , especially after the Allied occupation ended in 1951 , saw an overall deterioration of the family unit as Western influences took hold of the socioeconomic structure . This one goes even further in adding local government bureaucracy as a key factor in diminishing the self-worth of those who sacrificed their lives in meaningless jobs . A particularly effective sequence early in the film involves the local bureau's reaction to a proposal to build a park with each department representative claiming that its hands are tied and passing the buck to another department in ceaseless red tape . The focus here is on Kanji Watanabe , a stamp-wielding chief of affairs who routinely halts civic project proposals that come across his desk , which is covered with stacks of unread documents . At his job for thirty years , Watanabe earns the nickname of The Mummy for his catatonic manner , but when he learns he has stomach cancer and has six months to live , he takes stock of all he has left undone . Saddled with a son and daughter-in-law who hypocritically feel burdened by him ( even though they live in his house ) , Watanabe embarks on an obsessive journey to find redemption . It takes him from Tokyo's seedy nightlife - some of the more vibrantly surreal scenes are contained here - through an oddly erratic and strictly platonic relationship with a young female colleague named Toyo , whose spirit inspires him to do something right before he dies . The last hour of the lengthy film suddenly becomes a flashback from Watanabe's wake , which retraces his monomaniacal effort to support a group of housewives to build a children's playground where a toxic cesspool exists . The switch in perspective is initially jarring , but it gradually makes sense as it is meant to show the effect of Watanabe's good deeds on others and questions whether they will have a lasting effect on them . As it turns out , the cancer liberates Watanabe from the futile life he led and makes him a greater man than anyone could have imagined with the park as his undeniable legacy . Truth be told , Kurosawa is not as subtle as Ozu when treading such sensitive subject matter , for instance , Kurosawa films actual flashback scenes to understand Watanabe's evolving relationship with his son , whereas Ozu would merely imply the distance between them . However , Kurosawa builds the appropriate gravitas as the story unfolds in a sometimes glacial manner . Takashi Shimura , a Kurosawa regular who would gain greater renown as the leader of The Seven Samurai two years later , is deeply affecting as Watanabe . With his frozen cow-eyes and slumping posture , he captures the discomforting nature of this hapless man who finds his purpose just before it's too late . He achieves a brutal poignancy with his nightclub-set singing of his theme song , Life Is Brief , his lips hardly moving and his eyes cast in a downward stare toward oblivion . The last shot of him on the swing , magically framed by a jungle gym in a light snowfall as he sings his theme , is an utterly transcendent moment . I am on the fence about Miki Odagiri's performance as Toyo - on one hand , she fully embodies the free , uninhibited spirit of her downscale character , and yet , she can go overboard with her ebullience during key moments . I also feel the nightlife sequences go on a little too long as they appear to provide simply an opportunity for an indulgent novelist , played by Yunosuke Ito , to go on about the joys of the road not taken . Minor flaws aside , this is a moving film that encompasses the importance of bringing purpose to one's life even if you have little time left in this world . The two-disc Criterion Collection set contains plenty of extras - an informative commentary track provided by Stephen Prince , author of The Warrior's Camera : The Cinema of Akira Kurosawa , as well as two documentaries . One is an 81 - minute film , A Message from Akira Kurosawa , about Kurosawa's late-career creative process around the filming of 1991 ' s Rhapsody in August , and the other is a more engrossing 41 - minute film , which focuses exclusively on Ikiru and has a rare interview with Shimura .
    • 028 4  Though best known for his samurai epics , Kurosawa in 1951 crafted this profoundly moving tale about finding purpose and dignity in the forbidding face of death . In one of the richest performances of his career , veteran actor Shimura ( Seven Samurai ) plays a man struggling with the idea of how to live after decades of entombment in a heavily routinized existence . Odagiri is marvelous , too , as the bright , attractive young girl who leads him to rediscover the community-minded idealism of his youth . Ikiru may be Japanese in provenance , but its appeal is universal .
    • 029 4  Yes , it was slow paced . But so is death . The pacing was intentionally labored to accentuate Kanji Watanabe's struggle . Overall the film was good but not perfect . There were a few scenes that needed some editing , like the wake seen . But this hardly kept the film from conveying its life affirming message . Others have compared Ikiru to It's A Wonderful Life . This is a reasonable comparison , but Ikiru is more philosophical and abstract . And thankfully , for its sake , Jimmy Stewart isn't in it . Anyway , if car rollovers and pyrotechnics are your thing , you will not appreciate Ikiru . But if you want to see a touching and emotional story about the struggles of an honest man , look no further .
    • 032 4  You know the theme . This is Kurosawa's answer to It's a wonderful life . But that is where the similarities end . Ikiru employs a very creative narrative style ( and this was in the 50s ! ) to recount the story of a terminally ill man . It is an anachronistic assembly of anecdotes , vignettes , and personal accounts , which viscerally illustrates not only the timelessness of the story but also our protagonist's rebirth . The deliberate pacing evokes a sense that the story is occurring in real-time . Kanji Watanabe never narrates his story overtly . His thoughts , his emotions , his fears unfold before us peripherally . Nonetheless , we see life , in all its hope and misery , through his languid eyes . In the end , Ikiru is not just a moving story that you'll watch , savor and pass on . It is an abiding story of humanity , the tragedy of an unremarkable life , the compassionate waking of a world in oblivious slumber . It's the universal story of simple lives - - yours , mine , and of that neighbour you said Hello to this morning . This one is a must for your collections .
    • 033 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) I don't want to get carried away with comparisons but I couldn't help but compare Ikiru to It's a Wondersul Life . Each movie shows a man faced with a crisis who is forced to evaluate the meaning of his life . I suspect that most of us have seen It's a Wonderful Life in which the hero , George Bailey , discovers that his life has been far more meaningful than he ever realized . Ikiru shows us an opposite discovery for its ' hero , Kanji Wantanabe , a widower . He is a mid-level bureaucrat who discovers that he has a terminal disease . As he contemplates the meaning of it all , he remembers a joke he heard at the office in which the value of his work is mocked . Has his life amounted to anything ? In a poingnant series of flashbacks to his earlier life , we see a number of scenes that tell us of the two relationships in his life . We sense the sudden loss of his wife but it is the marvelously created scenes of his fading relationship with his son that touches us the deepest . I'm not sure I've seen many more touching scenes that the one at the train station when his son goes off to war . Thus his life has failed at relationships and at his professional career . What can he do with the time he has left ? The answer comes from a young lady who works at his office and is wonderfully played by an actress who , I'm sorry to say , was not identified ( in English ) on the cast and credits . Wantanabe realizes that he still has time to do something with his life and goes about trying to do just that . I won't say anymore about the plot because the beauty of the movie is watching things come together . As a matter of fact , the way the director moves about in time allows us to piece the puzzle together retrospectively . The funeral is where we learn of the success and the different , often self-centered , perspectives add to the impact of the message . The ending is a reminder to us all that we can choose whether or not we , too , want to make a difference . However , just saying so doesn't count . The director , Akira Kurosawa , has created another masterpiece of the human spirit . The acting is very well done . Takashi Shimura seemed to me , at times , to be too detached from his role . However , I came to realize that he was acting the role of a man who was too detached from life itself . This is a film worth seeing . Unlike It's a Wonderful Life we don't come away feeling that life's a celebration . Instead , we come away realizing that life's a responsibility . Amen .
    • 034 4  I don't want to get carried away with comparisons but I couldn't help but compare Ikiru to It's a Wondersul Life . Each movie shows a man faced with a crisis who is forced to evaluate the meaning of his life . I suspect that most of us have seen It's a Wonderful Life in which the hero , George Bailey , discovers that his life has been far more meaningful than he ever realized . Ikiru shows us an opposite discovery for its ' hero , Kanji Wantanabe , a widower . He is a mid-level bureaucrat who discovers that he has a terminal disease . As he contemplates the meaning of it all , he remembers a joke he heard at the office in which the value of his work is mocked . Has his life amounted to anything ? In a poingnant series of flashbacks to his earlier life , we see a number of scenes that tell us of the two relationships in his life . We sense the sudden loss of his wife but it is the marvelously created scenes of his fading relationship with his son that touches us the deepest . I'm not sure I've seen many more touching scenes that the one at the train station when his son goes off to war . Thus his life has failed at relationships and at his professional career . What can he do with the time he has left ? The answer comes from a young lady who works at his office and is wonderfully played by an actress who , I'm sorry to say , was not identified ( in English ) on the cast and credits . Wantanabe realizes that he still has time to do something with his life and goes about trying to do just that . I won't say anymore about the plot because the beauty of the movie is watching things come together . As a matter of fact , the way the director moves about in time allows us to piece the puzzle together retrospectively . The funeral is where we learn of the success and the different , often self-centered , perspectives add to the impact of the message . The ending is a reminder to us all that we can choose whether or not we , too , want to make a difference . However , just saying so doesn't count . The director , Akira Kurosawa , has created another masterpiece of the human spirit . The acting is very well done . Takashi Shimura seemed to me , at times , to be too detached from his role . However , I came to realize that he was acting the role of a man who was too detached from life itself . This is a film worth seeing . Unlike It's a Wonderful Life we don't come away feeling that life's a celebration . Instead , we come away realizing that life's a responsibility . Amen .
    • 035 4  Tearjerkers have been enjoying something of a revival in Japan recently . Last year's Sekai no Chushin de , Ai o Sakebu ( Crying Out Love , At the Center of the World ) - the pitch : high-school sweetheart dies of leukemia , very slowly indeed - was a monster domestic hit , while the more recent , no less weepy Ima , Ai ni Yukimasu looks set to pull a similar trick . Neither film could be faulted for emotional punch - however manipulative - but the nagging doubt remained : why bother , when you've got Ikiru ? Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece ( and , yes , there's a bulging lexicon to choose out of there , but nevermind ) may be showing its age - dodgy print quality , iffy sound , etc . - but its potency remains undiminished . Put simply : in a just world , this would trump It's a Wonderful Life for the Christmas TV slot every year . When a humble bureaucrat , nearing the end of his career , discovers that he has terminal cancer , he sets out to achieve something meaningful with what remains of his life . In any other film , that would probably mean finding a cure for AIDS or saving the local orphanage , but Kurosawa is far too subtle for that . His hero is a man of humble means and , accordingly , his final , lasting testament is far from awe-inspiring . The thing is , though , it still counts for something . Kurosawa's films positively resonate with humanity : even his most iconic samurai pictures never shied away from exposing us for the inconsistent , foible-ridden creatures we are . Ikiru is a far more small-scale affair than , say , Seven Samurai or Rashomon , but in the end that's a strength rather than a weakness . Finding hope in the tragic tale of a defeated , pathetic individual , it makes for one of the most life-affirming films you could hope to find .
    • 036 4  Simply put , this film belongs in your library . Period . Buy it now . Oh , you're one of those people who needs to reasoned with , huh ? Okay . When people think of Kurosawa , they think of his period films - Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , Ran . Those are all fantastic . Some Kurosawa films are better than others , but none of them are bad . But people forget that a large part of his career was taken up with ( then ) contemporary fare . What makes Ikiru special ? The comibnation of craft and content . The movie is exceptionally made . The lighting , the compositions , and the editing all do what they are meant to : come together to advance and develop the story . They do so in a way that is definitely stylish , but unlike so many modern filmmakers , they style serves the story , not the other way around . Kurosawa's camera complements , comments upon , and enhances what it captures . As a study of black and white cinematography , it is pricelessly . Some would criticize its long run time and deliberate pace , common criticisms of Kurosawa . But any story worth telling is worth telling in its own time , and the pacing is dead on for the content . What is that content ? Perennial Kurosawa collaborator Takashi Shimura ( Seven Samurai ) stars as Kanji Watanabe , a slug-like department head in the Tokyo city bureaucracy . He's unloved by his minions , unappreciated by his family , and unnoticed by life . The film deals with his gradual transformation upon learning that he has terminal cancer . Though often grueling , it's ultimately a triumphant movie , and not in that false , schmaltzy and sentimental way that most contemporary movies deliver.The protagonist achieves his transfiguration , but he does it silently and anoymously , and at the end , few even understand what he's done . Just like real life . Although Japanese , and presenting a fascinating glimpse into that culture , it is also universal ( Kurosawa was often criticized in his homeland for not being Japanese enough , whatever the hell that means ) . If you are at all interested in the history of film , or what goes into good filmmaking , or even if you just love a good story well told , you should look into this movie . Sure , it's a little pricey , but you've been good , right ? Reward yourself .
    • 037 4  Mr . Watanabe is a thirty year bureaucratic civil servant . Day in and day out , he stamps documents , says nothing , comes home and lives a lackluster existence . Our narrator tells us this man is dead even though his body goes through the motions of physical existence . Months later our hero is informed about him having ulcers ( code name for cancer ) . Doctors give him only six months to live . For the first time in his thirty-years , our hero decides to seek out how to live since he hasn't done it before . So he gambles , gets drunk , goes out with women and dances but finds that life empty . He tries to speak with his son who tunes him out . He runs after his young co-worker whose youth and vibrance motivates but even she hasn't the answers . The answer he seeks is meaning for a life that hasn't been lived . It took the spector of death to force him to finally decide how to live the few remaining breathes that he has left . Takashi Shimura does an outstanding job in playing our lead character . His quest is our quest as we live meaningless lives . The people he encounters , the situations he finds himself in and his final awakening is a wake up call for all of us . This masterpiece is moving and burning with feeling . The question we face is whether or not we will live . A video of this caliber of artistic workmanship is a classic to be viewed by everyone . It made me think about how to live my own life and it will do the same for you .
    • 038 4  I should start by saying that I think Ikiru is the best movie I've ever seen , but I'll try to address some of the negatives . The story of Ikiru is that of a bureaucrat who upon learning he has stomach cancer begins a desperate search for meaning in his life . He tries family , liquor , and women , but eventually finds purpose in a cesspool that troubles a local community , and their attempts to have a playground built on the site . The story is absolutely compelling , and the intricate subtleties of Kurosawa's direction make this film very powerful , especially in the second half of the film , where Watanabe's ( the protagonist ) coworkers discuss his final few months at his wake . The acting is superb . Takashi Shimura gives a performance that is stand out . Ikiru is not a universally liked movie , for several reasons . The movie is black and white and has subtitles . The cuts and scene changes have a very old-fashioned feel to them ( quite rightly . . . it's old . But this gives a lot of people trouble ) . The pacing of this movie is deliberate , and by that I mean slow . It is not quick or action-packed . It moves subtlely . While most all the reviews rave about it , I'd caution that this movie will not beat you over the head with its brilliance . It is a gentle story with subtle nuances , and often , the meaning is conveyed more in facial expressions and quiet moments than in anything said or done . That being said , I thought the transfer of this movie to DVD was terrible . It is my understanding that this was the best that could be done , which is a shame . Many feel this to be Kurosawa's best work , and to know that this terrible transfer is the best it can ever get , that's sad . Specifically , the vertical lines noted in previous reviews are definitely there , and definitely problematic . There is poor contrast , and it is often difficult to see the actors defined well at all . The bonus material on this DVD is so so . The commentary is certainly interesting , but the documentaries didn't thrill me too much . The main sell of this DVD is the movie itself . If this movie sounds like something you can sit through , you should watch it . It's a great movie . I really do think it's the best movie I've ever seen . But it's not for everyone . If you've already seen it and want to own it , this DVD set is fine , but it comes with the caveat that the quality of the transfer is not impressive .
    • 039 4  This is one o the greatest films ever made . I disagree with Leonard Maltin's review that finds the film depressing . It is a portrait of one man's quest for meaning in a world of impending death . We all shall shuffle off this mortal coil someday , and to find meaning in life is to find a way beyond death . Wantanabe is able to be reborn ( yes , it brings tears to my eyes too ) , and find his purpose in life in spite of having a death sentence of cancer over his head . We take the journey with him , from anger to confusion to dispair through rebirth . Of course , Kurasowa cannot resist the urge to throw a final twist of irony in at the end and show his attitude towards burocracy . It is a film that should be shown in every course about death and dying or used in grief therapy groups . A wonderful film .
    • 040 4  Along with Seven Samurai , this is often considered to be Kurosawa's greatest film . It may move you to tears , but there's not a single moment of sentimentality or tear-jerking in the movie . A warning is in order : this is that rare thing , a work of art which may make you feel you need to change your own life . Don't see it unless you are willing to risk a painful existential wake-up call .
    • 041 4  Ikiru is a prime example of Akira Kurosawa's personal directorial motive , which seems to drive much of his work . In Ikiru , we are placed at the precipice of a life-altering experience , a cataclysmic event that will unalterably change the course of Watanabe ( the main protagonist ) ' s life in the film . In this way , I see Watanabe as the spiritual embodiment of Kurosawa himself , and the film as a sort of personal reflection on the matter of a second chance at life , reminiscent of Kurosawa's own earlier experiences in the Canto earthquake , World War II , as well as his literary exposure to Dostoevsky and Shakespeare , who certainly have much to say about life after near-death . I see Kurosawa as the type of person to pay mind to the notion of resurrection and what a reborn life can entail for a person after he's survived the edge of it for himself . As it is , I'm not surprised Ikiru would dare to take on such a dramatic , and deeply reflective theme on what it means to live your life . Initially , Watanabe is portrayed as a sort of epitome for the modernized corporate-Japan , in which life isn't human per se , but more like a robot's , or a machine's , with the daily routine of the corporation reducing men to mere tools or cogs in the wheel . When he finds he has cancer , however , and that he has less than a year to live , it puts into question everything he has lived for , and it asks the hardest questions of all : What can I do now ? and What will remain of me when I am gone ? I think the notion of legacy is important here . The idea of leaving a mark on the world , and not being forgotten in the way that most spirits are after their bodies are laid to rest and buried . We see this especially when Watanabe , early in the film , cherishes memories of his son , ( memory , as we will see , figures greatly into what things we put our value into ) and that up until that point , everything he did in his life was for the sake of his young boy . This does not last for long , however , and when push comes to shove , and that legacy is put to the test , Watanabe finds out the hard way that 30 years of hard work amounts to nothing more than a largesse for his son to capitalize on , if not outright steal , rather than what he really wishes it to be - - a prosperous and grateful son who will always remember how hard his father worked to provide for him a good and comfortable life . ( On an ancillary note , I found it interesting when Watanabe discussed this with a young female worker . She responded with something along the lines of , Why are complaining like this ? Your son never asked you to provide him a good life . How can you expect him to be grateful ? It brought to my mind the idea of ' blind love ' and how this can be the most difficult type of love of all since it often goes unseen . Working constantly in the background , blind love is hardly ever the focus of attention and thus becomes easily forgotten . It's easy to see why it would go on thankless and unrequited - - it was never valued in the first place . I think this is what happened in Watanabe's case . ) When his own son turns on him , Watanabe is forced to reconsider his personal meaning in life ( remember now , his son has downgraded him to a mere means-to-an-end , not an ends-in-itself ) , and determine a new ends in life , much in the spiritual vein of King Lear . After a series of different tricks and ploys to learn what he wants out of life , he discovers what is truly important is to have legacy - - to have something to be remembered by , which becomes embodied in the form of the new park that he builds . I believe it is this message that Kurosawa is trying to instill in his viewers - - that all human beings , regardless of what they do or want to do , at the end of their lives , they want to feel as though they've done something they will be remembered for and by . Everyone desires a legacy in the twilight of their life . Watanabe finally managed his , and it serves as a tribute to him that we're watching the film in this way , i.e . , in memory of Watanabe , much as we read about important figures through memoirs . The memories of Watanabe are what will last , and the park will always be there to remind us of his toil , sweat , and blood . This is what will truly be his enduring high-note , i.e . , how hard he worked to bring about that park , and the type of man he was in perservering through his cancer , even to the final moments of his life , to make it a reality . That is truly a memorable legacy indeed .
    • 043 4  ( Minus one star because of the poor condition of the print ) Ikiru is argueably Kurosawa's masterpiece and the film is one of the true classics of all cinema . It suceeds on so many levels . A truly moving film that doesn't go for cheap sentiment , but instead touches the soul . Every action , camera move , and edit is brilliantly utilized make the film like a virtual text book in the power of filmmaking . The birthday party , Watanabe's song , the look of the office , the night of pleasure , the wake , the swing , and Shimura's eyes all linger long after seeing the film . Cinema at its finest . Image : ( 1 : 33 : 1 ) I first saw Ikiru on a blurry video cassette , the DVD is a lot better , but unfortunately its is still in poor condition . Throughout most of the night scenes there is a distracting light flicker on the edge of the frame that penatrates the black . It covers a wide area and is hard to dismiss . There are also many cases of a severe vertical line that cuts through the middle of the frame for several minutes at a time . Some key scenes have this across Shimura's face . Criterion probably did their best , afterall they achieved beautiful sharpness and good contrast with their transfer . According to Donald Richie's Kurosawa book , the original negative of the film has been destroyed so we probably can't hope for a better print . Extras : The audio commentary by Prince is one of the best scholarly commentaries around . It is one of the few talks that has truly increased my appreciation for a film by a large degree . His commentary points out elements of Kurosawa's art and skill that are so subtle that even multiple viewings would miss . A must listen to commentary for anyone interested in film criticism and technique . The second disc has a rather dull documentary on the film even though it has recent interviews with contributors to the film . Kurosawa himself isn't really asked about the picture . The longer documentary provides some rare footage of Kurosawa on the set directing his later day films and some interviews with him . The footage is great to see , although this probably would make more sense with the Rhapsody in August DVD since the clips are from it . Unfortuanately the documentary is poorly made , although it has some good biographical stuff , and the narrator is really annoying . It doesn't provide much insight into Kurosawa's process although it tries .
    • 045 4  This movie , more than any other , will make you think about your own life . Has it been a life worth living ? Could I and should I be doing more ? And , if I had only a few months to live , what would I do ? Watanabe , the main character in Ikiru , faces those questions . Like a drowning man , he first grasps for anything within his reach including alcohol , a meaningful relationship with a son who doesn't understand him , and friendship with an energetic young woman from his office . But he soon realizes something more important . His life has been a total waste . He has accomplished nothing . He's going to die without having really lived . But he finally makes a decision to act and do something positive for society . There are many memorable moments in this film , but none more poignant than the two scenes in which Watanabe sings Life is short , fall in love , dear maiden . Takashi Shimura , who plays the terminally-ill Watanabe , doesn't have much of a voice . But this song will pierce your heart . What I appreciate most is the way Kurosawa chose to tell Watanabe's story . Rather than presenting events in strict chronological order , Kurosawa uses a series of flashbacks . This allows us to better see how Watanabe's actions inspired , and in some cases , confused the people who knew him . If this movie doesn't move you , then nothing will .
    • 046 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Takashi Shimura gives a remarkable performance in Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru . His character , Kanji Watanabe , has risen through decades of work to become a section chief of a small part of a municipal bureaucracy . His department is the department of pass the buck , which would be bad enough , but all of his neighboring departments are also the department of pass the buck . When a group of mothers from a local neighborhood arrive to complain that sewage is backing up and causing sickness they are shuffled from one department to another , each one claiming that responsibility rests in some OTHER department . Our hero , played by Mr . Takashi Shimura , discovers at the same time that he has stomach cancer , and not long to live . At first he feels pitifully sorry for himself , then begins to reflect that his life has been a slight one , scarcely casting a shadow upon his surrounding world . A chance encounter with one of the young ladies from his department results in a friendship being struck up - he is attracted to her youthful vigor and enthusiasm , and she is intrigued that the older gentleman she has privately nicknamed The Mummy is actually a kind fellow . She begins to think it a little creepy that this older gent is showing so much interest in her - and as he feels his mortality approaching he is becoming more and more desperate to find human bonds . We have been led to this point to have sympathy for the old dying bureaucrat , and it would have been very easy at that point to turn the story into something pitiful or maudlin . Instead the story takes an absolutely sublimely inspired turn . Mr . Watanabe decides to actually do something and he applies himself totally to the problem of the neighborhood with the backed-up sewage . He is a bureaucrat , not a politician , and as he's dying of cancer he finds himself fighting not only the various departments of pass-the-buck , but politician's personified by the Deputy Mayor , along with local mobsters . It is an absolutely uplifting experience to see both the path and result of Watanabe's struggles . This film is justifiably praised . It's one of the greatest ever made .
    • 047 4  Takashi Shimura gives a remarkable performance in Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece Ikiru . His character , Kanji Watanabe , has risen through decades of work to become a section chief of a small part of a municipal bureaucracy . His department is the department of pass the buck , which would be bad enough , but all of his neighboring departments are also the department of pass the buck . When a group of mothers from a local neighborhood arrive to complain that sewage is backing up and causing sickness they are shuffled from one department to another , each one claiming that responsibility rests in some OTHER department . Our hero , played by Mr . Takashi Shimura , discovers at the same time that he has stomach cancer , and not long to live . At first he feels pitifully sorry for himself , then begins to reflect that his life has been a slight one , scarcely casting a shadow upon his surrounding world . A chance encounter with one of the young ladies from his department results in a friendship being struck up - he is attracted to her youthful vigor and enthusiasm , and she is intrigued that the older gentleman she has privately nicknamed The Mummy is actually a kind fellow . She begins to think it a little creepy that this older gent is showing so much interest in her - and as he feels his mortality approaching he is becoming more and more desperate to find human bonds . We have been led to this point to have sympathy for the old dying bureaucrat , and it would have been very easy at that point to turn the story into something pitiful or maudlin . Instead the story takes an absolutely sublimely inspired turn . Mr . Watanabe decides to actually do something and he applies himself totally to the problem of the neighborhood with the backed-up sewage . He is a bureaucrat , not a politician , and as he's dying of cancer he finds himself fighting not only the various departments of pass-the-buck , but politician's personified by the Deputy Mayor , along with local mobsters . It is an absolutely uplifting experience to see both the path and result of Watanabe's struggles . This film is justifiably praised . It's one of the greatest ever made .
    • 048 4  Ikiru - - roughly translated - - means to live and concerns the existentialist struggles of one elderly man who is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer and his eventual discovery of what the meaning of life truly is . Kurosawa veteran Takashi Shimura ( Rashomon , The Seven Samurai ) plays Kanji Watanabe , a miserly career bureaucrat who has risen to the rank of bureau chief of the Department of Public Affairs , although his only career accomplishment is having never missed a day in 30 years at his boring , meaningless job . His relationship with his co-workers is practically non-existent , and one of them even gives him the nickname The Mummy . Watanabe's personal life isn't much better . His wife and mother of his son died many years ago and he never remarried . Furthermore , he is estranged from his son and daughter-in-law , as they - - ignorant of his grave medical condition - - only seem concerned with how much money he will leave them as an inheritance when he eventually dies . When given the death sentence by a local physician , Watanabe - - understandably devastated - - skips out on work and decides to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh that he had missed out on for so many years . He blows 50,000 yen in one night of drinking and carousing , and later seeks the platonic affection of a young ex-co-worker . Unsatisfied with these pursuits , he later becomes inspired to dedicate his live to improving the lives of others , as he bites the hand that feeds him by ceaselessly and tirelessly fights the entrenched , mind-numbing local bureaucracy to get a public park built for an impoverished neighborhood . The film's greatest strengths lay in Shimura's tender performance and its powerful message that life is too short and precious to waste away doing nothing and that one person - - with enough will and dedication - - can make a positive difference in a seemingly uncaring world . Watanabe only beings to live after he learns that he is about to die . Where he used to sleepwalk through life , shuffling papers , Watanabe now takes the time to appreciate life's simple pleasures such as the beauty of a sunset , or playing on a swingset on a snowy night . Ikiru is a call to action that is more moving and powerful than similar Hollywood fare such as Dead Poets Society because it does not concern a group of spotty-faced kids with their whole lives ahead of them , but an old man who deeply regrets wasting his own life . It commands the audience to take action to make a difference in the world , and sums up Plato's ethos the unexamined life is not worth living . The film is also innovative in that its last 45 minutes occur at Watanabe's funeral , as drunken bureaucrats - - in a moment of clarity - - bemoan the drudgery of their own lives , mournfully recalling Watanabe's tireless efforts to build the park through flashbacks . It should be noted that Ikiru is quite different from the samurai epics that director Akira Kurosawa is so famous for . For the viewer looking for the thrilling epic battle scenes of medieval Japan , they should try The Seven Samurai , Yojimbo , or Ran . Also , unlike those films , Ikiru is devoid of the shouting and yelling that seems to predominate Kurosawa's work . Perhaps because Ikiru is set in then-present day Japan ( 1952 ) , the characters talk like everyday human beings , as opposed to dramatic ancient warriors . The film's biggest flaw would be its length . It clocks in at 143 minutes ( that's 2 hours and 23 minutes if you're counting ) , and anyone raised on a diet of MTV and Jerry Bruckheimer will find the pacing to be a trial . While Kurosawa's editor could have cut some scenes out , the film's simple message is powerful and surprisingly uplifting considering that you spend 105 minutes watching a dying man , and the next 38 minutes at his funeral . Ikiru is a simple , quiet , powerful film that will cause you to examine or re-examine your own life , and show you that the greatest tragedy in life isn't dying , but not living .
    • 051 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Currently there is a discussion thread on this site which asks : What is the best twist you have ever seen in a movie ? I'm sure that the vast majority of those who have contributed reviews here , and more broadly , those who have seen this film , would agree with my assessment : Hands down , Ikiru . Ikiru is not a fun film to watch ( although some scenes seem so antiquated and , well , funky , as to be hilarious ) . The film is not entertaining . As life often does , the film moves at a belabored pace . The situations are prosaic , predictable , protracted - often painful , and painfully slow . The characters are almost universally unattractive , often downright ugly , on the outside , on the inside . I found the film , for the longest time , somewhat irritating in its presentation . The low budget simplicity grates . The seamy , threadbare side of life gets tiresome to watch . And the acting - enough ham to fill the pots for a many a Sunday dinner . But , in the end , surprisingly almost , everything works . The unforgettable last frame . . . even more than the noted swing scene , is , as it should be , the real climax of what turns out to be a most profoundly moving tale . . . The last frame of Ikiru says it ALL - in film , and more importantly , in life . Transcendent .
    • 052 4  Currently there is a discussion thread on this site which asks : What is the best twist you have ever seen in a movie ? I'm sure that the vast majority of those who have contributed reviews here , and more broadly , those who have seen this film , would agree with my assessment : Hands down , Ikiru . Ikiru is not a fun film to watch ( although some scenes seem so antiquated and , well , funky , as to be hilarious ) . The film is not entertaining . As life often does , the film moves at a belabored pace . The situations are prosaic , predictable , protracted - often painful , and painfully slow . The characters are almost universally unattractive , often downright ugly , on the outside , on the inside . I found the film , for the longest time , somewhat irritating in its presentation . The low budget simplicity grates . The seamy , threadbare side of life gets tiresome to watch . And the acting - enough ham to fill the pots for a many a Sunday dinner . But , in the end , surprisingly almost , everything works . The unforgettable last frame . . . even more than the noted swing scene , is , as it should be , the real climax of what turns out to be a most profoundly moving tale . . . The last frame of Ikiru says it ALL - in film , and more importantly , in life . Transcendent .
    • 053 4  This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film . Ikiru which means To Live is one of Akira Kurosawa's most beloved films . I also found it very touching . It is about an ambitious city hall employee who develops an inoperable and incurable stomach cancer . Being terminally ill , he tries to make up for all the lost time he wasted by working too much . After he dies , his family looks back on the last months of his life trying to find out why he suddenly changed . I found the film to be very impressive in many aspects . Both as a period Japansese film and as one with nice scenery including a panchinko parlor . The DVD also has some great special features . Disc 1 contains the film with optional audio commentary by Stephen Prince , who wrote a book on Kurosawa's films . There is also a theatrical trailer . Disc 2 contains two documentaries about Akira Kurosawa . The first is part of a series and is about the film and includes interviews with the filmmakers including Kurosawa . The other is A Message from Akira Kurosawa the documentary is about Kurosawa himself and includes many interviews with him on the sets of many of his films .
    • 054 4  There's no denying it - I bought this movie on a blind purchase and liked it immediately . Some movies tend to mature in my mind and I like them over a period of weeks or even months ( took me years to like Amadeus ) but I'm afraid that IKIRU is beautiful from beginning to end . One of the best things of the movie is the fact that it doesn't want to be a tearjerker . It doesn't try to make us cry and those who would cry at the end will not feel manipulated into it . This is better than Kurosawa's Seven Samurai , a movie that I really admire . This is a movie everyone should watch because it would make you want to savour life . Simple as that .
    • 055 4  This is a tear jerker of maximum proportions . It is not a film for the simple minded nor the shallow thinker . Although I didn't get to Japan in the early years after the War ( I was too young ) , I did see a limited view of post-war Japan in 1957 ( as a Submarine Sailor ) and the poverty and life of Old Japan . But the story is not Japanese nor dated . . . it has to do with the God given gift of time and our responsibilities within that gift . As a Christian , I find no fault in the context of the Japanese thinking of death and responsibility . The story is extremely simple . The emotions are simple . The story is timeless . It is a masterpiece ! . . . And it is extremely emotional for all of us who have observed the approach of death of a loved one . Be warned : This is not a light film , but it is well worth the price and and the time . You will never forget it . Robert B . Cushman Cedar Crest , New Mexico
    • 058 4  Like all of Kurosawa's best movies , it covers the whole span of human emotion ; Hollywood directors whose masterpieces practically take one by the hand and lead you carefully through the thickets to an ending whose point even a child couldn't possibly miss would do well to learn from Kurosawa . One finishes Ikriu and doesn't know quite what to think : did the protagonist really make a difference ? But , then , that's life , isn't it ?
    • 059 4  Academy Award winning director Akira Kurosawa , and critically acclaimed actor Takashi Shimura paint a wonderful portrait of not only the stagnantly beauracratic post-war Japan , but a stunning look at the use one's life . Wattanabe ( Shimura ) is a regretful beauracrat who learns he has gastric cancer after working 30 straight years in the Mayor's office . After being shunned by his ungrateful son , and attempting suicide , Wattanabe searches for a way To Live before dying . One of the Top Ten Best Films by the New York Times . END
    • 060 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) This is an uplifting , carefully crafted movie by a master . The last scene will stay with you forever .
    • 061 4  This is an uplifting , carefully crafted movie by a master . The last scene will stay with you forever .
    • 062 4  Ikiru is riveting from the first scene to the last . It is Takashi Shimura's best performance I have seen . The cinematography is incredible . Ikiru is about a dying man who has sacrificed his life by leading a boring and uneventful existence to create a stable family unit with his son after the early demise of his wife . He realizes that he has never lived ( taken the wrong path ) and becomes determined to make a difference in some way before his death . The depiction of post-war Japan in the typical local government is incredible . Kurosawa's imagery and symbolism is beautiful and haunting . Every Kurosawa fan must see this film !
    • 063 4  I was at a party the other night , and the conversation turned to Kurasawa . A man looked at me and said , which is your favorite Kuraswa film ? You know how horrible that is . . . . having to make such a choice . . . which films do you give up ? I really didn't know what to say . I love Kuraswa's films , and love them each film for different reasons . What came from my mouth was Ikiru . To Live . What is life ? What is a life worth living ? Takashi Shimura , so surprisingly not the wise , older samurai we love in Seven Samurai , so surprisingly a beaten man in this film . . . He's a man , who so intensely desiring to understand the answers to the questions , What is life ? What is a life worth living ? because he has so little time to find the answers , is almost horrifying to the young woman he attempts to befriend . The desperate loneliness , sense of failure , loss of moral compass , then the even more desperate attempt to make one mark in the world . . it really is a tough film , emotionally very difficult . You ask yourself , is it better to just live like the young woman making plush mechanical toys ? You ask yourself , maybe this is how I am living . . maybe we put off a confrontation with mortality until we absolutely must . Thought-provoking film , with a beautiful performance by Takashi Shimura . I love that guy , with his huge sad-carp lips , and his startled eyes , and his amazing ability to transform into such radically different characters . Such confidence as a samurai , such street-smarts as a cop , such petty evil as a villian , such a remarkable performance in Ikiru .
    • 064 4  I'm only 19 so perhaps some may say I can't really comment or fully understand all about living life to the full , because I have barely lived . But one thing this film makes you realise is that a job , is just a job ! This film was so heartful and beautiful , it can make any age group realise that life is for living and how correct it was to say that ' only when you know you are going to die do you begin to live ' . . we should learn to live before that moment comes ! I recommend this film for everyone , I love Japanese films and this was by far one of the best films . It's an eye-opening film and one that should not be disregarded !
    • 065 4  This film is perhaps the most powerful message of Kurosawa's career . . . and the greatest film of all time . The presentation is structured as ponderous . , so that the audience may view Watanabe as though they knew him , and his life is a testament to humanity . We become his friends , his charges , his disciples , and we take his message - to live - with us , and become more aware . Brilliant .
    • 066 4  I have to concur with all of the previous reviews . I've seen the movie half a dozen times and pick up more and more with each viewing . No matter how many times I've seen it , the happy birthday scene is the one that always brings tears to my eyes . It is then that Watanabe is reborn . Leonard Maltin described the movie as depressing . I actually find it uplifting . It deals with one man's new found passion for life ! It is a beautifully filmed movie and one of Kurosawa's very best .
    • 067 4  What do you do after a lifetime as a career bureaucrat when you learn you have little time left to live ? That's the setting Kurosawa ingeniously uses to explore the nature of modern life , the human dilemma , meaning and insignificance . A main character who is clearly Everyman , with whom the audience immediately builds great empathy , is a success factor for this movie . Add continual and realistic plot development , superb acting and strong parallels between Japanese and American society , and you get a winner that you'll remember awhile .
    • 068 4  This is one of Kurosawa Akira's more important films . Its central questions are What is the meaning of life ? and Does a human being have value and significance ? These quesitons are investigated through following the last days of Watanabe Kanji ( Shimura Takashi ) who is a clerk at city hall . Early in the film , Watanabe overhears that he is dying from gastric cancer . We then watch as he goes through various classical stages of grief . Watanabe attempts to find solace in self-indulgence and in his family . For their part , his family is primarily concerned about transfer of economic and family authority . Utlimately , Watanabe decides to be the ultimate virtuous civil servant and work on a project for children which are themselves one of the iconic goods of Japan . During the early parts of the films we witness the indifference and beurocracy of city hall and how the needs and wishes of residents often ignored . Watanabe adopts a neighborhood petition for a small park and launches a personal crusade to see it built . He personally walks the petition , the plans , and the construction of this part . The last we see of him alive is sitting on a swing in the completed park with snow falling on him . While a Western director might have ended the film with the death of Watanabe , Kurosawa continues the story to include the funeral ceremonies following Watanabe's death . Here we meet his coworkers again who are quick to dismess the efforts of Watanabe and to take credit for themselves . While this may seem sad , we the audience know that the park would never have been built if it hd not been for Watanabe . We , if not the family and coworks , know that Watanabe had truly lived . The production values of this films are excellent . The acting by Watanabe and Kurosawa's troup is superb . More than any other film , Ikiru showcases the talents of Shimura Takashi . I should mention that Shimura was Kurosawa's favorite actor .
    • 069 4  Death comes too quickly , enjoy life while you may is the theme of this picture by Kurosawa . An old man , 25 years a do-nothing , paper-pushing bureaucrat , discovers he's dying of cancer . Suddenly he realizes he's lived an empty life and wants to finally do something for himself . He flounders at first looking for a way and then decides to help get a park built by tenaciously fighting through all the red tape necessary to get the job completed . Most of the movie is concerned with the old man's false search for happiness - getting drunk , trying to befriend his young secretary . But then he hits upon his scheme for doing something worthwhile . And here , I think , Kurosawa blunders : he jumps the clock ahead five months to the man's death and tells the old man's story regarding the park in flashbacks as fellow workers and local politicians reminisce at his funeral . It breaks the flow of the movie badly and also changes its focus - we now get an attack on the bureaucracy . For the most part , however , the movie is very moving and the final word almost on the despair of a life not lived . Definitely worth a watch .
    • 070 4  Ikiru-meaing To live concerns the trials and tribulations of a minor Japanese official as he is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer . He has to decide what to do with the time he has left . He goes through all of the stages of death denial bargaining ect . What he decides to do is finally to do SOMETHING . It is wonderful to finally see what he ends up doing . My Japanese history teacher recommended this to prove to us that Japanese cinema is not all Samurai movies ( helping us to break down stereotypes ) . It is probably Akira Kurosawa's best film ever even though I personally like 7 samurai better . Overall-If you have not checked this out do so now . It may take a while to get started but eventually what you have is a guy who has never done a thing in his life facing his last days with a wonderful dignity .
    • 071 4  Kurasawa has always been unafraid to take on the largest questions about what it means to be human . In Ikiru that question is what it means to be alive . Is it the beating heart or moving limbs or functioning brain that is the criterion ? No . The main character , played by the superb Takashi Shimura , has been technically alive and working at his deadening bureaucratic job for 30 years without missing a day . Yet he describes himself as a mummy . Kurasawa tells us through this metaphor that he has been dead all those years . The movie shows us that , ironically , it is only when he finds he is dying that he learns to be truly alive . With Ikiru Kurasawa has created yet another masterpiece . There aren't enough stars in the sky to rate this movie .
    • 072 4  This is a touching drama which highligts the fact that we sometimes have to have the threat of losing things before we learn to appreciate them . It also shows how humans are creatures of habit and that they can be truly selfish . . . not willing to sacrifice or risk anything for the benefit of others . Nevertheless once in a while someone comes along who makes us think that the quality of giving selflessly is not all lost among human beings .
    • 073 4  Another classic film by Akira Kurosawa , this one contemplates the meaning of life . The film may be depressing and sad but that's how life is . Takashi Shimura gives an excellent performance as an old man who slaves his life for an ungrateful son .
    • 074 4  This movie is best viewed as a matinee . You need to be wide awake and paying attention to what's going on . I just saw this movie today at a museum in Boston , and it absolutely stunned me . You need to be patient with this movie ( by Hollywood standards , it drags ) . But , the patience will pay off because by the end of the movie , you care about this lowly government worker so much that it hurts . I'll never forget this movie . And yet , it had virtually no action , hot women , or even much of a plot ( at one point , we watch a man's attempts to push a proposal for a new tiny urban park thru city hall ) . But , even if you're not into foreign films , you gotta check this out . Like I said , make sure you're wide awake and in a patient mood . This one is pretty damn important .
    • 075 4  There are a lot of movies out there and I have not seen all that many . Yet this movie it touched me , touched me right here * put's hand to heart * . While you can't really call one movie the greatest movie of all time , i'm going out on a limb here , this is one of the top 10 best ever .
    • 076 4  Thanks to Criterion for making this masterpiece available . Kurosawa's retelling of Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich is beautiful on every level . No other filmmaker has or had the talent to frame every shot perfectly , while keeping his subject matter deeply human . Kurosawa knew humanity , its quirks , weaknesses , regrets , follies , and most importantly , the heights to which it can soar . Ikiru tells the story of a many who does what proves to be nearly impossible in the lives of most . Upon learning he is to die of stomach cancer , he changes his life . He learns to Live . But as with any tale of enlightenment , of those who gain an inner clarity about themselves , and who live their lives guided by that clarity , in truth and goodness , the majority do not understand . Boris Mouravieff call it the Law of Exception . Like drops jumping from the stream , only a few on the surface ever leave the inexorable pull of dictates of culture . The ones that remain cannot fathom those who have become free . And so , as Kanji Watanabe becomes free , as he Lives and as his work produces fruit born of his Being , those who follow are unable to overcome the resistance of inertia and entropy . A deeply saddening , but equally uplifting film . Highly recommended .
    • 077 4  This is most probably the greatest film about life and what it means to live . Watanabe is suffering from stomach cancer . With imminent death in his future , Watanabe resolves to figuring out how to spend his last days . The film is expertly plotted : During the first half we see Watanabe before his death , coping with his illness , dealing with his relationship to his son and daughter-in-law , his fascination with one of his young subordinates and his struggle to find his purpose in life . The final half of the picture takes place during Watanabe's wake , where his fellow bureaucrats and co-workers muse about Watanabe's final act of generosity . I've heard some people regard movies like ' High Noon ' , ' Rebecca ' , ' Gone with the Wind ' , ' Godfather I and II ' and ' The Last Picture Show ' as being as perfect a movie as possible . In my humble opinion this is as perfect a movie as one can get . Of all of Kurosawa's achievements in film , this movie is his greatest because he approaches a big subject ( life and it's meanings ) and succeeds in every valued aspect of film making ( story , music , visual , editing ) . The film never takes a cheap exit out of things . Characters never speak to directly inform the audience of the story's themes and motives . Instead the film is more subtle , we see that Watanabe is lonely ( during the scene where he and the writer hit the town , Watanabe is in the middle of the dancing crowd but is somehow out of place ) and misunderstood ( the scene where Watanabe is about to reveal his disease to his son while his son and daughter-in-law just want him to leave the room ) . Everything is implied but easily understood . And through it's simplicity the film achieves a complex portrait of the life of a dying man . What is life worth ? What should a man aspire to and what can he truly achieve ? What is the meaning of life ? This film approaches those questions and , in some instances , answers them . Subtle and poignant , this is one of the most beautiful movies ever made . Highly recommended !
    • 078 4  Ikiru ( To Live ) , by Akira Kurosawa , is sort of a ` lost ' film . No , it was never really lost , but it is unlike the archetypal Kurosawa film Western audiences think of him making , and thereby lost in his canon . It is not some historical epic filled with honor , samurais , and swordplay . It is more in line with the genre of retrospective life films in the vein of Orson Welles ' Citizen Kane or Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries , in that we drop in the on the life of an ordinary man - in this case lifelong low level Tokyo city bureaucrat office head Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) , a few months before his death by stomach cancer , and witness how this ` living mummy ' , as his co-workers chide him ( one of the nicer things they say about him ) , reclaims meaning in a life long since blanched of it . Unlike Charles Foster Kane , a business magnate , or Isak Borg , a renowned Academic , Watanabe is the sort of man most people would ignore . His devotion to his work life only accentuates his forgetability , for he seems somehow pleased with himself and his existence ( or maybe just narcotized ) , merely rubber stamping projects here and there , or assisting his underlings in giving grieving citizens the bureaucratic runaround . Yet , as soon as we , and he , get confirmation of his cancer ( although his doctors , in Japanese tradition deny it , and Kurosawa deftly skewers this absurd tradition in a hilarious scene where another stomach patient - played by Atsushi Watanabe - tells Watanabe exactly what horrors to expect from the doctors and the disease , and is right ) something within Watanabe shifts . A mere month shy of setting the all time record for perfect attendance , he skips out of work for a few days . The non-news of his impending demise has shattered all his desires for conformity . . . . This is a great film , and Shimura ( a veteran of the Godzilla films I loved in my youth , as well a Kurosawa regular film player ) gives a great performance . The way he imposes his will on the gangsters , bureaucrats , and politicians to get the park built shows smart subversion at its best , and possibly enough to make up for the years of living death between his wife's death and his graves-edge rebirth . Like Rashomon , which preceded it in the Kurosawa canon , Ikiru deals with perspective , but not the perspective of many on one event , but the perspective of many on many things : life , a man , a park , accomplishment . It is , in that way , something like Rashomon 2 . It is one of the many reasons this is such a great film . Another is that while the first two thirds of the film , while Watanabe lives , is great , there have been Hollywood films that come close to it - in construction and true sentiment . But , no Hollywood film has ever done what the last third of this film does , craft a stage play that can basically stand alone as an existential debate on life and art , purposiveness and meaning . This daring and depth is what soars Ikiru past lesser films . Even Citizen Kane , as great and influential a film as that is , was not as daring narratively , as this film , for the themes of the film , while profound , are not really original . It's all how the film presents these issues , starting with the film's first shot of an X-Ray of Watanabe's stomach cancer . Despite all that is to occur , Kurosawa never lets us forget that all of what occurs is due to a few cells in a man's stomach that forgot how to behave . Without the cancer , Watanabe remains a mummy for years more , and the slum children have no park to relieve , however briefly , their misery . Yet , even more profound than the philosophy of the film , is its realism . By the end of the film , we see that Watanabe's co-workers truly are bureaucratic scum . They talk the talk at his wake , but refuse to walk Watanabe's walk . Watanabe's victory is small , and temporal . Likely , the gangsters will find another way to corrupt that area , and with Watanabe gone there is no one left in his office who will care . Kurosawa has shown us victory , but acknowledges it may be Pyrrhic , at best . It is also the greatest artistic indictment of bureaucracies ever made , and not just of Post-War Japan's problems , nor even Japan's for the three tenets of Japanese bureaucracy - be punctual , never take off , and do nothing , are universal , even if only codified in Japan . We see this most eloquently in the scenes of Watanabe skipping work , for the office work comes to a halt and the mountain of paperwork continues to bloat . Some believe that the famed Tolstoy story , The Death Of Ivan Ilyich , is the basis for this film , since both involve petty bureaucrats who die , but Ikiru is the far greater work of art , for it about life , not merely its waste . Ilyich cannot cope with life , while Watanabe , however , acts upon his demise's coming , but why he does , is a bit of a mystery . We can only assume his motives , for Kurosawa keeps much of his motivation a secret , as Watanabe spends quite some time ` offstage ' , even when alive . Perhaps the only flaw in the film is in the subtitling , with white subtitles almost blanched out in some of the shots , but that's not anything Kurosawa had control over . That which he did shows mastery , something he never seems to have lost .
    • 079 4  If you are like me and feel frequently that your work has little meaning in the grand scheme of things , that you aren't sure what sort of impact you are having on the world , that you could do more , here then is a film to drive you to excellence . I see myself in the lead character , slowly becoming a mindless mummy . It seems to tell the same story as Bergman's Wild Strawberries , in a different light . It examines a person's reaction to imminent death , what a person holds on to ( perhaps takes with him / her ) . It details a wake-up call for a person who has lived life without feeling for far too long . If you see one Kurosawa film , see this one .
    • 080 4  Few films truely touch the heart with both sadness and redemption . The great team of Kurasawa and Shimura accomplish this with a touching storyline , creative cinematography and sound management , and outstanding acting . Yes , the film will no doubt bring the strongest person to tears . But , then , the truth will do that all too often . . . .
    • 081 4  The basic plot of the movie doesn't say much : A petty bureaucrat discovers that he has cancer , his life has been meaningless , and he dies . Within that simply outline , however , lies one of the finest examples of film making and acting . The absolutely luminous portrayal of this man as he tries to make peace with his life makes most academy award performances look tawdry by comparison . The direction is without flaw . The Japanese seem to love a sense of poignancy and nostalgia in their art , and this film is absolutely the best example , also , of that love . See this film if you want to see how a movie should be made !
    • 082 4  This is one of the finest , most touchingly beautiful films ever made and needs to be put on digital format so that new generations can watch it and it is not lost in the sea of time .
    • 083 4  Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru is a reflective and personal story that offers a fascinating contrast to the director's more epic works . It is a timeless tale of the power of the individual to triumph over the mechanizations of an uncaring bureaucracy . Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) is a government employee who has dutifully done his job for 30 years . He is forced to reevaluate his life after being told he has only six more months to live . Watanabe decides to live up his final days and hooks up with a novelist ( Yunosuke Ito ) who introduces him to the pleasures of Tokyo's nightlife , but the experience proves less than satisfying . After an insightful talk with a young co-worker named Toyo Odagiri ( Miki Odagiri ) , the dying man sets out to accomplish something meaningful with the time he has left . Ikiru is notable for its exploration of social dynamics within a structured society but is more memorable for its exploration of Watanabe's humanity . Shimura touchingly conveys the plight of Watanabe and effectively keeps him from transforming him into an overly-sentimental character . Odagiri is also excellent in a crucial role and leaves one of the more lasting impressions amongst the female characters that have populated Kurosawa's works . Although small in scope , Ikiru is nonetheless an emotionally satisfying and insightful work from the famed director .
    • 084 4  In Ikiru the main character , Kanji Watanabe ( Takashi Shimura ) , is diagnosed with gastric cancer , which is painfully revealed to the audience before Watanabe is aware of his fatal illness . This is followed by a dim , yet brief report on Watanabe's last 20 years . Watanabe discovers his illness through the lies of the doctors and he begins to ponder his own existence as he tallies the days . A depressed Watanabe seeks refuge in a local bar where he meets a writer for whom he reveals his dark secret . In pity the writer decides to show Watanabe how to enjoy his life while still alive , and he brings him on a sinful adventure that ends in a hang-over . A hang-over was not what Watanabe was looking for , but instead he discovers that he must take risks . Ikiru is translated into To live , and the film is about Watanabe trying to find life again after years of conscious sleep . This is even pointed out to him by one of his staff members that has her own personal nickname for him , the Mummy . Ikiru is a film that is full of subtlety that builds up the dark atmosphere around Watanabe as he journeys towards his end . These subtle moment are carefully balanced between acting , sound , cinematography , and directing which brings about a brilliant cinematic experience .
    • 086 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) Great movie by Kurosawa . It may seem slow for many people . But , its deliberate pace and silent moments intensifies the message for us : Ikiru ( To Live ) .
    • 087 4  Great movie by Kurosawa . It may seem slow for many people . But , its deliberate pace and silent moments intensifies the message for us : Ikiru ( To Live ) .
    • 088 4  Great film , Akira Kurosawa is at his best here . Everytime I watch it , i can't wipe the smile off my face for hours after ward . Just order it and watch it ; you won't regret it . . .
    • 089 4  The time period is post war japan , the country is rebuilding , there is drabness , the rough noisy sounds of the streets , the cabarets , the energy . Cut to scenes of the civil servants office , stillness , quietness and volumes of paper . Kurosawa is a master moving gracefully between the raw and sublime . Watch for the two scenes where Shimura sings . In the first , the beaded curtain swinging back forth to the song . In the last scene , the swing , gently rocking , framed in the squares of the . . . The policeman returning the hat , the mannerisms , you know the guy has to be a black belt judo and yet the sincere , humble apology . The politician with entourage , going through the hollow ritual courtesy at the house , to be confronted by the working housewifes with reverent condolence offerings . Kurosawa is a social satrist with an unrelenting gift for detail and rhythm . Every now then I have a need to watch it again . As it plays so slow , I have slow down to feel that detail and rhythm .
    • 091 4  Soaked in the tragedy of loss yet uplifting in the promise of self-empowerment ; ` Ikiru ' ( which translates ` To Live ' ) is one of the most powerfully moving films ever made . With a deep-set sadness that permeates each scene , ` Ikiru ' knows the message it is trying to portray , and director Akira Kurosawa understands how best to relay the message to the audience . We are drawn in to this man's world , feeling his every ache and pain , and we adopt his resolve just as he does . The film tells a rather simplistic story . An elderly man named Kanji Watanabe finds out that he is going to die of stomach cancer . Up until this point in his life he has lived like a shell of a man , working to provide for his son and his daughter-in-law . Thirty-years of faithful service to the city office has gotten him nothing to show for it but a life that feels less than fulfilled . His son resents him , his co-workers take him for granted and he is left with shattered memories of a wife lost in death and a family that regards him as useless . But the point is that he is rather useless . Given a sharp prod in the form of a death sentence , Watanabe attempts to escape this drowning feeling by splurging his savings on a young co-worker who makes him feel alive , for a time . But , as he soon finds out , simply spending time with someone young and vibrant will not make you young and vibrant . Watanabe needs something to believe in , to push him and make him feel accomplished . ` Ikiru ' is a beautifully poignant life lesson for us all . It's very important that we learn to live our lives to the full while we have the chance . As the saying goes , ` you only live once ' and whether or not we think it's for the best , restricting ourselves of happiness is detrimental to our life as well as those around us . The one point I'm left with more than any other is the hurt Watanabe's actions have had on his relationship with his son . His son regards him as worthless , and in the beginning my sympathies were solely with Watanabe , thinking that he was been cast aside by his own flesh and blood , but as the film continued and Watanabe himself came face to face with his own mistakes I began to realize that he caused the rift himself . My heart breaks for him , but he is not innocent in the matter . As the film ends one is left with a bitter-sweet aftertaste . You are thrilled that Watanabe finally got his chance to ` live ' but you are also left wishing that he had realized this a long time ago , when he had a chance to mend differences and gain a true happiness . Kurosawa's masterpiece is essential viewing for any cinephile like myself . It's strength lies in the way the story is told , and Kurosawa knew how to tell this story perfectly . The length shouldn't be an issue , especially once Watanabe gets his second wind about an hour into the film . The happiness he expresses while out to dinner for the first time with the young woman who has ignited his fire is one of the single most rewarding moments in my movie viewing history !
    • 093 4  This review is from : Ikiru [ VHS ] ( VHS Tape ) I would love to see this updated , but this is a classic that stands alone . If someone would make a version of this story in different countries , with the same lessons to be learned and the pain of what is involved , there would not be a dry eye in the house . The protagonist of this film , Mr . Wantanabe is the hero . He stood up against irresponsible bureaucrats , his own family ( who were indifferent to anything he had to say ) , and even the equivalent to the mob to get the wasteland reclaimed so that a safe place could be created for children to play . He used what time he had left to make the last moments of his life greater than the last 30 years , and transformed those around him as a result once he found his own purpose . It is a beautiful movie , and while Americans tend to harp on how great Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind are , they should see this and then get back to us . To me this ia greater film than both of those .
    • 094 4  I would love to see this updated , but this is a classic that stands alone . If someone would make a version of this story in different countries , with the same lessons to be learned and the pain of what is involved , there would not be a dry eye in the house . The protagonist of this film , Mr . Wantanabe is the hero . He stood up against irresponsible bureaucrats , his own family ( who were indifferent to anything he had to say ) , and even the equivalent to the mob to get the wasteland reclaimed so that a safe place could be created for children to play . He used what time he had left to make the last moments of his life greater than the last 30 years , and transformed those around him as a result once he found his own purpose . It is a beautiful movie , and while Americans tend to harp on how great Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind are , they should see this and then get back to us . To me this ia greater film than both of those .
    • 095 4  Michael Crichton , one of the greatest writers of the last 30 years , said Ikiru to live would be his pick on a desert island in a interview before he died of terminal cancer ( ironically the same as the hero in story ) . You wonder why the narration calls this pathetic Japanese salaryman Our Hero but watch wet eyed as he humbly races against the ticking clock of life to make one positive contribution to society . He gradually wins over even the most hardened skeptics in pursuit of his project so he can die peacefully . The hero's rendition of the Gondola no uta ( song ) is worth the price . The beauty of the movie is the director , Kurosawa , causes you to pause for a moment and think . . . How have I improved the lives of others ?
    • 096 4  Watanabe is a middle aged government official nearing retirement , when he discovers that he has cancer and less than a year to live . He withdraws money from his savings and decides to experience life before death overtakes him . Initially he finds a mentor , played by Seiji Miyaguchi ( Kyuzo in Seven Samurai ) , who leads him on a tour of night spots : drinking , dancing and whoring , playing pachinko . He finds no satisfaction , however , and soon chances to meet a young woman from his office who seeks him out because she needs his hanko ( seal ) to make her resignation from the government job official . She complains of the boredom and meaninglessness of the work and confesses that she has bestowed nicknames on all the officials of the department . His nickname : The Mummy . Watanabe spends some time with the young woman , buying her stockings and trying to emulate her carefree approach to life . She has taken a rather boring and meaningless job , but professes to enjoy it . Meanwhile , Watanabe's son and daughter-in-law , crassly concerned only with the old man's savings and his retirement allowance , are appalled by the change that has come over him . Soon the relationship , like his fling with the mizu shobai world , proves unrewarding . Watanabe returns to his job after two weeks absence . His co-workers are surprised to see him , and even more surprised when he ignores established convention and takes an aggressive role in promoting the development of a park for which citizens have pleaded , meeting only with excuses and delays from government officials . Watanabe refuses to shunt this request to another department in the endless bureaucratic shuffle that is characteristic of Japanese officialdom . Almost half the movie takes place following Watanabe's death . At a mourning ceremony , a group of citizens come to protest the lack of recognition given to Watanabe for the park ( the Deputy Mayor has taken credit in a public speech ) . Watanabe's co-workers get drunk and some of them speak their minds : Watanabe was the real creator of the park , for which the Deputy Mayor and others have taken credit . Conformity , and peer pressure , are nowhere more evident than in these scenes . The few courageous admirers of Watanabe stand out like the proverbial nail that sticks up . Citizens come to pay their respects , to the discomfort of the bureaucrats , most of whom are still slaves of convention . Even Watanabe's son cannot face the magnitude of his father's heroic actions . Takashi Shimura gives an eloquent performance as Watanabe . There are moving scenes of the park , children playing , and Watanabe swinging , alone in the dark with snow falling , on the night of his death ( which took place , appropriately , at the spot he had created and left behind for the people he served . ) This simple black and white statement possesses a quiet intensity that places Ikiru in the top rank of films from a great and prolific director . .
    • 097 4  A Japanese language subtitled film and morality tale replete with very interesting cultural features - - particularly recurring ceremonial bowing and gestures that predominate . The film is over 50 years old but still conveys some universal and ageless messages about contemporary life . The characters are alternately funny and moving . Much to like here .
    • 098 4  Ikiru is one of Akira Kurosawa's greatest films , and this special DVD has the movie and great special features , including the making of , interviews with actors , and people in-charge of effects and lighting from Ikiru and other movies made by Akira Kurosawa . I highly recommend this movie and many other movies Akira Kurosawa has made . The Criterion Collection is a very nice version of the movie to have . I purchased this DVD to replace my copy of Ikiru from an aging VHS collection I have , and the quality of the video and audio of the movie on the DVD is superb to the VHS .
    • 099 4  Many reviews gave great and glowing reviews of this movie , I will second them . I enjoyed the screenplay / dialogue . I found the Criterion version had outstanding subtitles and will definitely look into Criterion versions of other foreign movies . The subtitles made a large difference to the enjoyment of this movie ( along with the cleaned up film ) .
    • 101 4  It was sad , but life affirming at the same time . One of Kurosawa's best ! Highly recommended !
    • 102 4  Alas I am retired , otherwise I would require all staff executives to see this film . It is timeless in its depiction of corporate / government meaningless work , the jokeying for credit when , miraculously , something is accomplished , and the beauty that life can nevertheless offer to the individual mired in the system . And for film buffs , a true masterpiece . Note particularly the artistry of the scene near the end showing the cloudy sky viewed beyond the electric train catenary wires . Others have noted the perfection of the actors . For those so inclined , picking out the numerous casting overlaps with The Seven Samurai may be an entertaining effort .
    • 103 4  Watanabe-san , a government bureaucratic drone with a monochromatic life , learns that he has stomach cancer and just a few months to live . This realization galvanizes him into making some large changes in his life , pursuing new relationships and noticing the beauty in everyday occurrences , like sunsets . Most importantly , he takes up the one-man mission of championing the renovation of a local cesspool field into a children's park . Only when he learned he was going to die did he truly start to live . In the end , we are all terminal . This Kurosawa movie is an extraordinary allegory on how man can find meaning in his life by engagement with others , by helping others and joining in positive causes beyond their own immediate concerns . Sadly , I suspect many Western audiences will be turned off by the length of the movie , its pacing , subtitles and black-and-white texture . That is a shame since Ikiru is a gem !
    • 104 4  This is is probably Kurosawa's greatest film . the films title couldn't be more appropriate , to live is it's translation . which sums up it's question what does it mean to live life ? . A man diagnosed with cancer realizes he has never truly lived life . he pursues the japanese night life in bars and dance clubs and eventualy in his hateful son but to no evail . he still feels empty , so he decides to make a difference . he works at a political office stamping papers . he makes plans for a playground and desperately tries to get them passed before it's too late . a fine performance for the legendary takshi shimura ( seven samurai , rashomon , godzilla ) , and akira kurosawa's most moving and thought provoking films ever made .
    • 106 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) As a big fan of Kurosawa and the Criterion Collection , I couldn't wait to recieve this DVD in the mail . Human life can be lost before a person dies , Kurosawa's film shows , and it is difficult for anyone to remain truly alive with all of life's challenges and setbacks . Like a thin thread , life's inspiration is easy to lose . But what happens when a man loses that thread for decades and discovers it again only months before dying ? The answer to this question is both heart-warming and heart-breaking . But ultimately this film will burn brightly in the viewer's mind . Two years after becoming world famous for Rashomon , Kurosawa released this thematic sequal - a meditation on truth and meaning in the modern world . While Rashomon became a cinematic landmark , I think this film blows rashomon away . It , along with Ozu's Tokyo Story , are the most moving films I've ever seen . What makes Kurosawa so great here ? It is the centrality of the movie's meaning . We all die and we all struggle to find truth . Watanabe , a placid and unquestioning bureaucrat , glimpses the truth about his life when he finds that he has only months to live . He immediately sets out to live his life to the fullest - eventually granting the dearest wish of the citizens that the other bureaucrats would just rather ignore . But like the man who emerges into the sunlight from the cave in Plato's allegory - none of the other cave dwellers understand his actions.In fact , it's worse , the grandstanding officials claim credit Watanabe's inspired actions , despite having stood in his way . But ultimately the truth saves Watanabe before he dies . This is masterful filmaking - more on par with Kurosawa's heroes Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare than his cinematic peers . It is a must purchase for his fans and , I think , a story that will move the viewer towards greater compassion and consciousness of life passing by . Perhaps it's no wonder Criterion chose this fim to include two feature documentaries on Kurosawa on a second disc . And the commentary track is done by the always entertaining Stephen Prince . You can't go wrong here .
    • 107 4  As a big fan of Kurosawa and the Criterion Collection , I couldn't wait to recieve this DVD in the mail . Human life can be lost before a person dies , Kurosawa's film shows , and it is difficult for anyone to remain truly alive with all of life's challenges and setbacks . Like a thin thread , life's inspiration is easy to lose . But what happens when a man loses that thread for decades and discovers it again only months before dying ? The answer to this question is both heart-warming and heart-breaking . But ultimately this film will burn brightly in the viewer's mind . Two years after becoming world famous for Rashomon , Kurosawa released this thematic sequal - a meditation on truth and meaning in the modern world . While Rashomon became a cinematic landmark , I think this film blows rashomon away . It , along with Ozu's Tokyo Story , are the most moving films I've ever seen . What makes Kurosawa so great here ? It is the centrality of the movie's meaning . We all die and we all struggle to find truth . Watanabe , a placid and unquestioning bureaucrat , glimpses the truth about his life when he finds that he has only months to live . He immediately sets out to live his life to the fullest - eventually granting the dearest wish of the citizens that the other bureaucrats would just rather ignore . But like the man who emerges into the sunlight from the cave in Plato's allegory - none of the other cave dwellers understand his actions.In fact , it's worse , the grandstanding officials claim credit Watanabe's inspired actions , despite having stood in his way . But ultimately the truth saves Watanabe before he dies . This is masterful filmaking - more on par with Kurosawa's heroes Dostoyevsky and Shakespeare than his cinematic peers . It is a must purchase for his fans and , I think , a story that will move the viewer towards greater compassion and consciousness of life passing by . Perhaps it's no wonder Criterion chose this fim to include two feature documentaries on Kurosawa on a second disc . And the commentary track is done by the always entertaining Stephen Prince . You can't go wrong here .
    • 108 4  This film is a sensitive yet robust masterpiece which fulfils the true function of Art-to reflect the mystery of Life and Living back to You . The film highlights the imminent dilemma of each one of us-we are mortal beings whose life will end at a certain point in time . Given this usually supressed knowledge , we have to ask ourselves : Are we living a life worth living , regardless of what happens after death ? Only you can answer that question !
    • 109 4  The philosophical struggle for meaning in life , was captured in this film.It is simply one the most human stories of all time .
    • 110 4  I don't know if anyone's noticed , but the critically-acclaimed About Schmidt with Jack Nicholson , seems to bear a startling resemblence to Kurosawa's Ikiru . Both follow the meanderings of old men as they realize the dreary meaningless of their lives and search for some semblance of meaning . Both are moving , although I would argue that Ikiru is slightly more successful in its expression of bitter-sweet optimism - a difficult feat when one considors the extremely nihilistic framework of the film .
    • 112 4  The last day of a simple man who is dying of cancer , makes for him a real transformation in the values who held him . When he decides to give a surprise to his own daughter to tell her about his illness she captures in a powerful statement where she states she wants he dies as soon as possible . He closes the door and that reason will carry him through the reconsideration about a lot of things . One of the supreme masterpieces of all the cinema story . Many people consider this is the most expressive and poignant work of Kurosawa . I do not agree but undoubtly it is a real gem . Unforgettable !
    • 113 4  This is probably my favorite Kurosawa film . And the film quality and packaging are so very excellent . I cannot recommend highly enough !
    • 114 4  This film of Kurosawa's has hovered like an unsolved problem in my mind ever since I watched it a couple of weeks ago . Its true that it inspired a lukewarm reaction in me , and I've been pondering why my feelings about it are so different from the overwhelmingly enthusiastic majority . I can accept the possibility that perhaps my artistic appreciation is not as well developed as that of some . But I have considered the matter , and I don't believe any amount of reevaluation is going to make me like it any better . I don't take such a critical stance lightly because : ( 1 ) Akira Kurosawa is one of my favorite film-makers . Throne of Blood , Dersu Uzala , and Seven Samurai would all be on my top-ten list . ( 2 ) I have no wish to show disrespect for the opinions of all those who evidently revere the film . But I take my books and movies seriously . While I expect them to be entertaining , I am also looking for a positive stimulus or suggestion to give me a new or heightened perspective about life . This is what I failed to find in Ikiru . Kurosawa's stance throughout this movie seemed to me to be more didactic and ideological than insightful . Kurosawa appears to have had some strong opinions that he wanted to convey with this story . The character of Watanabe , the protagonist , seems to be more of a symbolic victim than a real human being . The System has beaten him down and destroyed his spirit . If Watanabe is the victim , then society itself is shown to be the villain . We are given such a negative picture of the bureaucracy , where Watanabe is a minor official , that the obvious conclusion is that the system is rotten and should be overthrown . I question whether the Japanese system was ever so stagnant and repressive to initiative as it is portrayed here , for in the years following this film , Japan went on to become a technological and economic powerhouse . By implication , Watanabe himself is also to blame for his benighted state of soul . Most of the other employees who work under him are thriving in the cynical , venal , self-serving atmosphere . But he was evidently once a man of ideals , and when he had that knocked out of him , he withdrew and became a mummy rather than be involved in the petty intrigues of the office . Essentially , he was an individual who should have made a difference , but he abdicated his responsibility . I think Kurosawa was holding both society and individuals like Watanabe up for reproof . That Kurosawa thought that activism was the answer for both personal and societal ills seems obvious , given the direction taken by the protagonist in dealing with his fatal diagnosis . I admit I have a problem accepting books or films that inject politics into their themes in a heavy-handed way . Even though properly directed activism is a good thing , I am resistant to fictional portrayals that are designed to influence the viewers to adopt the opinions of the writers or directors . These fictional portrayals can be manipulated and fine-tuned to present a very emotionally persuasive , but distorted picture of actual circumstances . It seems to me that there was a very concentrated effort in Ikiru to use the device of gaining sympathy for Watanabe to also gain an endorsement of Kurosawa's condemnation of society as a whole . Why would Kurosawa be so negative on society , and especially bureaucracy ? Maybe he felt that his artistic expression was being hampered by the bureaucracy of film studios , and he extrapolated his frustration to society as a whole . I don't say the character of Watanabe is undeserving of pity ; not only because he was facing death - we all have to face that . It is pitiful to see a human being capitulating to exterior influences without even putting up a fight . There are no doubt many people trapped in bureaucratic rubber-stamp type jobs who can identify with Watanabe . What I can't identify with is someone who ignores all the tools at their disposal that can be used for personal empowerment . There are billions of neurons in our brains by means of which we can utilize thoughts , books , music , relationships , activities to give meaning to our lives . I agree that it is a positive thing and there is a certain poetic beauty to Watanabe's final achievement of getting the playground for the children . Thus he was able to die happy with the feeling that his life had had meaning . But Kurosawa's blistering attack on society continues unabated , as we are shown that things return to status quo after the death of the protagonist . I really can't say that any of the messages of Ikiru are bad , as such . Its just that I felt it was so extreme in its viewpoint that this detracted from the believability of both the acting and the storyline .
    • 116 4  . . . for rating this one . I can't but than agree it might well be the most compelling film by Kurosawa . As well Criterion have to be hailed for bundling the most interesting ' Extras ' I've ever seen on DVDs . But afterwards I couldn't help thinking why , after half a century since it was released , nobody realized that giving stomach cancer to civil servants and politicians might get them doing their work : and if even for a short while , at least tax-payers won't regret the money they're usually conned of . Since the bulk of most civil servants ' work is waiting retirement , and almost all politicians think ( ? ? ? ) they've been elected so they can be paid while preparing their next campaign , it would be worth giving it a try .
    • 117 4  I really didn't want to do this . Posting two reviews is really klutzy and gauche . But I kept seeing my January 21 review on my member page with something missing , and it just bothered me too much . Here's the sentence : What can you say about a movie whose opening shot is a stomach X-ray ? Even I have to say , what's the big deal about that ? But that was only half of what I intended to say - - the weaker half . Here is what I wanted to say : What can you say about a movie whose opening shot is a stomach X-ray , and whose hero is DEAD when the movie is only HALF OVER ? Thank you . I needed to say that .
    • 118 4  At Ikiru's opening , I started to have real doubts about the film . I had heard that this was Kurosawa's best , and the film was built up just enough to come crashing down . Luckily , that didn't happen . The narrator of the film reminded me of Criswell's narrations to Plan 9 from Outer Space . The film seemed to say too much and show too little . Then as the narrator continued during an extremely long take of our hero Mr . Watanabe at work , something clicked . The long duration of the shot and the narrator's continued breakdown of the man's less wholesome characteristics gave the impression that he was breaking down our lives , that the narration is coming from the back of our own minds , and that we are powerless to silence it . That floored me , and for the rest of the film , I remained awe-stricken by this humble yet miserable man . Takashi Shimura gives one of the greatest performances I've seen since Raging Bull . Here is a guy whose really pissed off at the world , but he's smart enough to know he has only himself to blame for the mediocrity his life has been dealt . The horror on his face when he learns of his cancer will remain with me for a long time . There are points at which the film seems to drag on , but never without purpose . When he dies , having finally given meaning to his existence , his coworkers and family members recount the final days with pity , confusion , and finally admiration . The scene lags , which makes us that much more insulted by their ignorance .
    • 119 4  Ikiru ( To Live ) is a beautiful film . Before I bought it , I read the sypnosis and I felt that I was able to relate the Watanabe's story . I had been searching for the same things that Watanabe searches for after he wakes up from his thirty-year torpor . So , I bought this film since I had already seen several of Kurosawa Akira's films and he had quickly become my favorite director ( preferred over Johnny Depp , Stanley Kubrick , and Inagaki Hiroshi combined . ) In contrast with other films , especially the American film industry , this film is God , but when it is compared with other Kurosawa films , I don't think it is the best . Red Beard ( Akahige ) , another Kurosawa film , asks the very same question in a less direct manner , but also focuses on mental evolution , change . I felt that Red Beard is truly Kurosawa's greatest accomplishment . In fact , I believe Red Beard to be the best accomplishment in the history of cinema arts . I suggest buying Ikiru first though , just because it was made before Red Beard , which was made in 1965 . I also highly endorse The Hidden Fortress , even though it has less of a psychologically altering impact . Get The Hidden Fortress , too , before you get Red Beard . I think it is best to get them in chronological order , which puts emphasis on Kurosawa as a person . Cinematography-wise , I didn't like how Ikiru was put together . About Schmidt was a terrible film , but I thought it was edited better . I don't like the flashback sequences . I like to think of cinematography in a more theatrical , histrionic manner . Flashbacks are nearly impossible to execute on the stage and I like films that really implement the theatre into them , just like Kurosawa did with his film Throne of Blood . In any case , buy this film . About Schmidt failed to communicate what Ikiru and Red Beard succeed in .
    • 120 4  I'm a HUGE Kurosawa fan , and I'm obviously in the minority here , but I thought this movie was horrible . It was painfully boring , entirely too long , and the point was belabored over and over in the most uninteresting of ways and the most laborious of conversations . I fell asleep about 3 / 4 of the way through and truly didn't care about the ending or what happened . For fairness sake , I have to add that my husband really enjoyed the movie and thought it was great . I was baffled , but I guess a lot of other people think it's wonderful too .
    • 122 4  This review is from : Ikiru - Criterion Collection ( DVD ) I have been told many times to keep the VHS tapes of important films , and Ikiru is definately one to keep in tape format . This DVD flickers and has large white lines down the center of the picture . Check out the scene where Wantanabe is in a restuarant with his new-found friend , and offers to spend 50,000 Yen on a good time . You can hardly see the two men ; the film flickers and whiteness enters the scene covering the entire picture , continuing for a long time , reaching into other scenes that follow . The sound is very scratchy , and the subtitles many many tikmes unreadable because of the whiteness and the constant flicker . Then there are the sharp white lines down the center . . . an unforgiveable transfer . I have the VHS tape . . great shape . Hang on to this or buy this tape fast before it goes out of print , and you are stuck with yet another bad Criterion transfer . Be warned . . this is the worst yet I have ever seen on DVD .
    • 124 4  This 1952 film by Akira Kurosawa , about a civil servant learning he has terminal stomach cancer , and trying to do something socially meaningful in the last months of his life to redeem his boring and uneventful life , has become a bit overrated . Some people had even called this film a masterpiece . The material is certainly moving , but the movie is stilted and static , the performance of the main actor is of one note , and the dialogue explains often what is obvious to the viewer . Realistic movies were not Kurosawa's forte . One cannot help but notice that at about the same time Ikiru came out such directors as Ozu and Naruse were making much stronger , fluid and unmawkish movies dealing with the everyday life in postwar Japan .
    • 125 4  Slow moving philosphical piece concerning the last months of a bureacrat's life . Long after you think the movie should have ended , it keeps on coming . It just . . . drags along . The main problem with the movie is that it is too slow . The viewer , after a while just won't care about anyone in the movie , any more . The movie talks about the pointlessness of life , and in the end , seems like a pointless itself . A movie must never forget , it is supposed to entertain , as well as inform . Otherwise , the movie becomes a documentary . Every theme is over emphasized . Long after the viewer gets the point , the topic is brought up yet again . Added to the unpleasant-to-the-ear language , it makes the movie close to unbearable . In this particular style of movie , not understanding Japanese is very damaging . In Kurosawa's more reasonable movies , adventure , mixed with philosophy , makes the japanese more bearable . That said , the acting is excellent , and the main themes are timeless . This is worthy of your collection , as long as you know what you are getting into-a depressing , slow moving philosophical piece with absolutely no continuity of flow . For most , this is a rental , not a keeper .
    • 126 4  This is an admirable movie with a useful lesson , that we should use our lives constructively to make this world better in whatever way we can . We are taken to a comic book world , a surreal world , where the city officials do absolutely nothing . All they ever do is refer complaints to other departments . Obviously , we are sometimes given the runaround in life , but the world we are shown here is an exaggeration , the Bizarro World . Some women would like to change an area of filth in their neighborhood into a park . They get the runaround , to a dozen different departments . Finally they get lucky and run into our hero , who runs the public affairs department . Since he is dying of stomach cancer , he'd like to do something with his life and he's not afraid of standing up to the people in his Bizarro World who insist that nothing at all be done . In the end , guess what , the park gets built , thanks to our dying hero . And the politicians and bigwigs all horn in on the credit , despite the fact that they were the naysayers . One of the lessons for us is to hate all politicians . Thank you . I didn't need to be told that . I already do hate all politicians and big shots . Thank you very much . I already do consider all big shots in this world to be selfish scum . My main problem with this movie , and the reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 5 , is because it tastes like cod liver oil . It is medicine . It is not very enjoyable . We just keep getting hammered either by our hero's suffering or by the evil of those in his Bizarro World . I worked in the management office of a housing project for about 6 years , long ago . That's the kind of civil service job being ridiculed here , I suppose . We did things . We got people's windows fixed . We got people's apartments heated . The place I worked in was not like the caricature pictured in this movie . I doubt if any place is . It's just a convenient target . If Japan is really like the way it is portrayed in this movie , then there's no reason for it to be here . It is a waste of space . Obviously that is not the case , and what we are seeing in this movie is a comic book caricature of reality . But still , the lesson is well taken . Do something with your life . Live it as if you will die soon . One day the jig will be up , and you will be back home in Heaven . Hopefully . So do something while you are here . I like the way the movie ends . It is an artistic touch that I appreciate . Our hero is seen looking down on the park that he caused to be built , and he sees lots of children playing in it . That's fun to watch . Then a mother calls her kids , demanding that they come home for dinner . There's nothing sentimental about it , just hey kids - get over here ! , basically . It was a very nice way of getting the message across that the park is a beautiful thing for the neighborhood , without getting mushy about it . It was one of those early 1950s parks that had an area to climb on , and hard concrete under the climbing area , so if you fall you really break your head . Very kid-friendly , no ? Really makes you want to get up there and start climbing . Just like the park near my house when I was a kid . I was never very interested in climbing fences , ya know ? It just seemed like a pretty risky thing to do . It was a lot safer to jump down staircases . My favorite part of this movie is watching the young girl who works in our hero's department . She's full of fun and energy , which this movie badly needs , like a desert needs a soft drink machine . Another thing I like about the movie is that our hero's son is a real piece of garbage . Sometimes our sons do turn out to be selfish garbage . It's nice to see that recognized in an intelligent movie like this one .
    • 127 4  This review continues my recent assault on particular cinematic themes that annoy me incessantly , and therefore require a therapeutic purging via an extensive ( and scathing ) IMDb review . The topic in question here is Akira Kurosawa - hereafter referred to as the lesser Kurosawa , primarily because when one hears the name Kurosawa one should immediately think of Kiyoshi Kurosawa , who is superior in almost every respect to this lesser Kurosawa , a director artificially propped up on an undeserving pedestal by a group of disillusioned followers . Sure , he had one solid film in Seven Samurai ( 1954 ) , but every time I see his other movies I wonder how the hell anyone could think that this guy was a great director . It befuddles me , even though I am a huge fan of other directors from the same time period . My primary problem with the lesser Kurosawa is his indisputable ability of getting the absolute worst out of his actors and actresses . In Ran ( 1985 ) Tatsuya Nakadai ( who played Lord Hidetora ) contributes a series of embarrassingly overacted moments during any and all scenes where strong emotion is required . In Hidden Fortress ( 1958 ) Misa Uehara ( Princess Yuki ) gives one of the worst performances of the 1950s . Even Toshiro Mifune had a truly ineptly performance in Rashomon ( 1950 ) . In Dreams ( 1991 ) almost everyone stinks the place out . Ikiru ( 1952 ) continues the track record for this lesser Kurosawa , because Takashi Shimura ( who plays Kanji Watanabe ) is quite simply horrible in this film . He basically has three modes of facial expression : 1 . Wimpering Crybaby Mode . 2 . Sad Puppy Dog Mode . 3 . Hallucinogenic Mode . I'll leave it to the viewer to identify the specific instances where each of these modes are employed by Shimura , but I simply cannot help but comment on #2 above . During Sad Puppy Dog phases , Shimura's face lengthens and his eyes bug-out to make even fruit-flies jealous . Basically , he looks like a 3 - year-old after being scolded , not a person of sufficient maturity enduring pain or suffering . He doesn't react to situations like any grown man would . In fact , the Watanabe character is so devoid of basic humanity that he comes off as a stand-in for Invasion of the Body Snatchers . I'm not kidding when I say that Shimura's facial expressions make Ikiru both unintentionally hilarious and infuriating . I literally wanted to strike him with a blunt object or stick needles in his eyes just so he'd stop staring pathetically at me through my television screen . This whole situation ruins the entire film . The crux is that even a mediocre director should have prevented this by instructing Shimura appropriately . This lesser Kurosawa was apparently incapable of understanding the concept of overacting , so he let Shimura ham it up for 140 minutes . You can almost hear this lesser Kurosawa behind the camera : You're a puppy dog , Takashi . You're a puppy dog . Show me those puppy dog eyes ! It's no wonder why George Lucas found inspiration from the lesser Kurosawa's works , since Lucas practically perfected the art of getting the absolute worst out of his actors , regardless of how good they perform when not under the influence of good ole George . Like many of the other works by this director , Ikiru is about an hour too long . Watching Watanabe go clubbing for 60 minutes was totally unnecessary . The very thin premise was stretched out for so long that I was reminded of Peter Jackson , who needed 600 minutes to tell one of the most basic , formulaic stories in the history of cinema . The lesser Kurosawa could have trimmed the first half , but in all honesty it would have only made this agonizing cinematic experience shorter , not better . Since the lead protagonist had the reason and intellect of a 3 - year-old , there wasn't much in the way of potential development , and what little occurs comes from out of nowhere . The entire maturity of Watanabe is expressed in a segment spanning a few measly minutes , when he goes to work with zeal and runs out the front door to help the people . Kurosawa - in his infinite stupidity - then chooses to cut the sequence off completely , only to then shoot ahead half a year in time to show a bunch of politicians reminiscing about Watanabe's tasks for 45 minutes . There is simply no way that the viewer can relate to the revelatory happiness of the main character through the third-person conversations of characters that had a combined screen time of only a few minutes previously . It's a total miscalculation on the part of the director who takes the cheap way out with an abhorrently overrated swing scene in the snow . Yes , the scene is pretty , but it simply cannot substitute for a lack of character development that essentially occupies 5 total minutes out of a 140 - minute film . And no , I refuse to count 30 minutes of puppy dog glances as character development . The mediocrity of this much-loved lesser Kurosawa is even more evident in the fact that other , greatly superior dramatic directors like Yasujiro Ozu were making fantastic films like Early Summer ( 1951 ) and Tokyo Story ( 1953 ) - films that make Ikiru ( 1952 ) look like amateur hour at best , because they have everything lacking in this film - great acting , storyline , and character development with believable , realistic performances . It's a travesty that exceptional directors like Ozu must live in the shadows of a lesser director that was lucky enough to be admired by a few tasteless Californian bloodsuckers . It's almost humorous that the lesser Kurosawa came out with Ikiru in the time period in-between Ozu's films mentioned above . We can safely call this a crap sandwich .
    • 128 4  No wonder Spielberg thinks it's Kurosawa's best . I am echoing the same points as the other lone negative one-star review here . The protagonist acts like a creep , fails to utter one compelling word throughout the entire film . He never confronts a single one of his adversaries responsibly but instead gawks like a crazy person . Worse , the film is agonizingly long in tooth , by at least 30 - 40 minutes . The point it is making could be touching , yet its execution is pandering . I found it had little resonance for me or my wife . If I were to point to Kurosawa's one excepttional film , that encapsulates his humanism , it would be Red Beard . A much more dynamic and subtle movie than this one , with Mifune dominating through sheer force of will . Ikiru proved to be a terrible mismatch for Kurosawa's talents , but an excellent litmus test .
    • 129 4  This is a lousy movie . Tedious , badly written and badly ( over ) acted , with an excruciatingly slow plot and too long by about an hour . The main character is utterly unsympathetic , has about 2 facial expressions , and perhaps it didn't translate well to subtitles but his inability to spit out a complete sentence - - mildly humorous when remarked upon by another character - - rendered the movie almost unwatchable . The two most interesting and somewhat sympathetic characters play brief roles and then are gone without a trace . A real stumper is why he was able to make something of his life by pushing through a proposal to turn a cesspool into a park , yet was completely unable to find some connection to his son by the time he died . In fact his son ( and to a lesser extent his daughter-in-law ) plays a puzzlingly minor role in the overall plot .

  • Mr . Watanabe's wake , in which colleagues reminisce about the noble act he accomplished for a town before he died . His act - - - he steps over bureaucratic lines and gets built a children's park in an area where there was only a dirty pool of water previously - - - slowly inspires the others to perhaps break out of their bureaucratic mold . . . and perhaps will inspire you too , in a different way . I dunno , though . . . I was inspired but only sometimes moved by this film . For me , I think Kurosawa's penchant for lack of subtlety and heavy-handed sentimentality sometimes mutes its power . Kurosawa , for example , is not content to simply allow us to visually observe how lifeless our hero truly is at the beginning : no , he must give us a voiceover that drums it into our head that this man has not truly lived . And then there is the scene in the bar in the middle of the film , in which Watanabe sings , with tears coming out of his eyes , a mushy song that expresses his feelings of hopelessness and despair . If nothing else , though , the second half of the film seems to expose this unfortunate tendency - - - a very long scene , intercut with flashbacks , set in Watanabe's wake in which his fellow workers first try to deny Watanabe's deep heroism , but then eventually resolve to be as noble as he was in his last months of life . It is certainly intriguing structurally , as we see the effects of his death on fellow workers and the townspeople Watanabe helped so greatly . And yet I think , could this scene not have been just as effective as simply an epilogue rather than the focus of the entire second part of the film ? I'm sure Kurosawa could have made his point - - - he is showing how one man's heroism can deeply affect other people - - - without becoming as repetitious and even preachy as this portion of the film sometimes seemed . And yet , if IKIRU is a flawed film , at least its flaws always spring from an honest desire to lift up his audience in a way that SEVEN SAMURAI and THRONE OF BLOOD do not even try to do . It may be sentimental , but it is always honestly felt , and perhaps you might be much less resistant to Kurosawa's sentimental excesses than I occasionally was . As Watanabe , Takashi Shimura gives an unforgettable performance ( esp . with that hauntingly raspy voice of his ) ; and Kurosawa does create a final moving image of Watanabe swinging on the swing in the new park , singing that same song he sang at the bar , but in a different , perhaps more joyful manner . That image just goes to show you that Kurosawa was , above all else , a masterly visual artist in his films . If he had relied more on his sense of powerful imagery to make his point , IKIRU might have been a truly great film , instead of one that perhaps tries too hard to be deeply moving . And yet I would be lying if I said that I wasn't affected by the film . Perhaps some of you might not mind the occasional preachiness in this film and will find this a truly transcendant film experience . For me , it almost got there , but not quite . Still , IKIRU is a good film that deserves to be seen for its powerful message , if nothing else . Maybe it will really change your life . Recommended ( with some reservations ) .
    • 009 4  I'm not going to review & #34 ; Ikiru & #34 ; per se , but discuss the & #34 ; import & #34 ; DVD version ( vs . the Criterion version ) . The & #34 ; import & #34 ; DVD version of & #34 ; Ikiru & #34 ; is an official DVD release of the film by the Hong Kong company Mei Ah . It is not a bootleg ( though bootleg versions may also exist ) . THE SUBTITLES ON THE MEI AH VERSION ARE SO BAD THAT THE MOVIE IS NEARLY UNWATCHABLE . The English subtitles are a translation of the Chinese subtitles / translation of the original Japanese dialogue . This is evident because the Japanese characters bizarrely have Chinese names . As a result , the English grammar is atrociously poor even by typical Hong Kong standards ( and this is coming from someone who watches a LOT of subtitled Hong Kong movies ) . Think about that for a second : Japanese - - - & #62 ; Chinese - - - & #62 ; Garbled English - - - & #62 ; scratching your head trying to figure out what characters are talking about Plus , the Mei Ah DVD is a & #34 ; flipper & #34 ; , i.e . a double-sided disc that you need to turn over in the middle of the movie . So my recommendation is to stick with the Criterion version . It is worth the price . If you think you can save money by buying the import version , do this instead : 1 ) with a magic marker write & #34 ; IKIRU & #34 ; on the front of a ten dollar bill 2 ) burn it That will cost the same as the import DVD and will be a much more satisfying viewing experience .
    • 030 4  IKIRU means to_live in japanese and this beautiful movie is one of the best representations ever of what really matters in life . Facing an incoming death due to a cancer , a bureaucrat who has wasted 30 years of his life doing nothing uses at his best the last 6 months he has in store . I recommend to watch this movie and also read Seneca's De brevitate vitae . Life is really too important to be wasted in the idiot things we are forced to do by the stream that carries us away . It is good to watch a good reminder , as this movie is .
    • 031 4  I wish I could give this movie more than just 5 stars ! One of the greatest features of all time . This film clearly shows that Akira Kurosawa was more than just a director of epic samurai pictures . He could also direct powerful dramas as well . Takashi Shimura , as the dying bureaucrat Watanabe , gives one of the greatest performances in motion picture history ! He looked so weak and fragile in this movie , yet in the SEVEN SAMURAI ( as the head samurai ) , he looked strong and able . You could swear that it was two different actors ! A true testament to Shimura's acting ability . I doubt that any of today's overpaid actors could pull that off . Hollywood tearjerkers don't even compare to IKIRU . This movie is sad ( depressing at times , after all he is dying of cancer ) . It can make you angry ( The petty politicians in this feature don't give a damm about anything and yet take credit for all of the good that's been done ) , and most of all , it is very inspiring . A true classic .
    • 049 4  IKIRU is one of the most emotionally engaging and powerful films I have ever seen . Easily the most popular non-Anglo-European film director , Akira Kurosawa's contemporary films have never achieved the popularity of his historical ones . Perhaps the built-in fan base of martial arts aficionados , or those looking for the inspirations of such films as STAR WARS , THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN , and A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS has made movie viewers more aware of films like THE HIDDEN FORTRESS , SEVEN SAMURAI , and YOJIMBO . Whatever the cause , Kurosawa's films set in the twentieth century have not received as much attention as these others , which is unfortunate because films like STRAY DOG , HIGH AND LOW , and DRUNKEN ANGEL are among his finest works . IKIRU is one of Kurosawa's most unique and moving films . IKIRU is perhaps Kurosawa's most intimate film , focusing on the inner life of a single character as he confronts his impending death . The first shot of the film is of an X-ray that shows that the central character of the film , Kanji Watanabe , portrayed magnificently by Kurosawa mainstay Takashi Shimura ( the head samurai from SEVEN SAMURAI , the woodcutter from RASHOMON , and a host of other roles ) , is dying of cancer . A minor bureaucrat , during the course of the film he realizes how meaningless his life has been , and resolves to leave at least one good work behind . He single-mindedly focuses on getting a park for children built in the little time he has left , and the image of the soon-to-die Watanabe sitting in a swing in the park while it is snowing ( winter being a sign of the end of his life but the snow a purifying symbol of the covering of past blemishes ) he built for the children is one of the most powerful and beautiful in cinema . Only the most steely hearted won't find a tear welling up during that scene . There is a didactic message at the heart of IKIRU : we spend our lives asleep , doing things that do not truly matter and will leave no mark behind us when we leave . The question remains whether we , the living , will wake up like Watanabe , or whether we will go to our graves never really having lived . The irony in the film is that only when confronted with his own death . The film illustrates the truth of the words of Samuel Johnson : Nor would ever anything wicked , or often any thing absurd , be undertaken or prosecuted by him who should begin every day with a serious reflection , that he is born to die .
    • 050 4  I don't profess to be an expert on the films of acclaimed Japanese director Akira Kurosawa , but I will say that , though I haven't seen a great many of his films , I've definitely admired the ones I have seen . Films like RASHOMON , THE SEVEN SAMURAI , and THRONE OF BLOOD show a director that not only has an acute visual sense - - - I have never seen equalled the unforgettable images of the moving trees and then Toshiro Mifune with all the arrows launched at him at the end of THRONE OF BLOOD - - - but also a human sensitivity that may be more flamboyant and theatrical in style than his Japanese counterpart Yasujiro Ozu , but is no less impressive . He is a true film artist , to be sure . . . but , though IKIRU is often called one of Kurosawa's most human film achievements , I personally would not quite put it in the same level as those aforementioned three . Not that it's not moving . The first half of the film actually made me shed quite a few tears , watching poor Kanji Watanabe first find out he has stomach cancer , and then try to actually have some fun with his life . His attempts to do so are quite touching , even though it does not always work out - - - esp . with the girl that eventually gets annoyed with him b / c he insists on hanging out with her so much . Finally , he decides to do something noble for the people he works for , and thus we get to the second half of the film : Mr . Watanabe's wake , in which colleagues reminisce about the noble act he accomplished for a town before he died . His act - - - he steps over bureaucratic lines and gets built a children's park in an area where there was only a dirty pool of water previously - - - slowly inspires the others to perhaps break out of their bureaucratic mold . . . and perhaps will inspire you too , in a different way . I dunno , though . . . I was inspired but only sometimes moved by this film . For me , I think Kurosawa's penchant for lack of subtlety and heavy-handed sentimentality sometimes mutes its power . Kurosawa , for example , is not content to simply allow us to visually observe how lifeless our hero truly is at the beginning : no , he must give us a voiceover that drums it into our head that this man has not truly lived . And then there is the scene in the bar in the middle of the film , in which Watanabe sings , with tears coming out of his eyes , a mushy song that expresses his feelings of hopelessness and despair . If nothing else , though , the second half of the film seems to expose this unfortunate tendency - - - a very long scene , intercut with flashbacks , set in Watanabe's wake in which his fellow workers first try to deny Watanabe's deep heroism , but then eventually resolve to be as noble as he was in his last months of life . It is certainly intriguing structurally , as we see the effects of his death on fellow workers and the townspeople Watanabe helped so greatly . And yet I think , could this scene not have been just as effective as simply an epilogue rather than the focus of the entire second part of the film ? I'm sure Kurosawa could have made his point - - - he is showing how one man's heroism can deeply affect other people - - - without becoming as repetitious and even preachy as this portion of the film sometimes seemed . And yet , if IKIRU is a flawed film , at least its flaws always spring from an honest desire to lift up his audience in a way that SEVEN SAMURAI and THRONE OF BLOOD do not even try to do . It may be sentimental , but it is always honestly felt , and perhaps you might be much less resistant to Kurosawa's sentimental excesses than I occasionally was . As Watanabe , Takashi Shimura gives an unforgettable performance ( esp . with that hauntingly raspy voice of his ) ; and Kurosawa does create a final moving image of Watanabe swinging on the swing in the new park , singing that same song he sang at the bar , but in a different , perhaps more joyful manner . That image just goes to show you that Kurosawa was , above all else , a masterly visual artist in his films . If he had relied more on his sense of powerful imagery to make his point , IKIRU might have been a truly great film , instead of one that perhaps tries too hard to be deeply moving . And yet I would be lying if I said that I wasn't affected by the film . Perhaps some of you might not mind the occasional preachiness in this film and will find this a truly transcendant film experience . For me , it almost got there , but not quite . Still , IKIRU is a good film that deserves to be seen for its powerful message , if nothing else . Maybe it will really change your life . Recommended ( with some reservations ) .
    • 092 4  IKIRU has at its center the profound subject of the human condition approaching death , the invidual's fear of non-existence & the meaning of life . Intense subjects to be sure , but under Akira Kurosawa's masterful direction , the one man's experience of this most human of human conditions is simply told with dignity & a light touch . In many ways the plot of IKIRU parallels with that of one of my favorite Japanese film , CHERRY BLOSSOMS . An elderly man approaches the end of life , with little comfort to find in his past , particularly after his wife has died . A young woman befriends the man ( in the story of CHERRY BLOSSOMS the girl is a Butoh dancer , in that of IKIRU she is a girl who works in the civil service off under the man . ) On another level , IKIRU presents a scathing satire on the subject of bureaucracy & its stifling effects on creativity & the human spirit . The film opens with a group of women trying to get a cesspool filled in . They are sent from one city department to another in a vain campaign for someone to listen to them & take them seriously . Ikiru's planning division does the same , but it is at this junction department head Ikiru learns that he is dying of stomach cancer & has only a few months to live . In a sort of Dickenseque turn , Ikiru is taken in hand by an artist who takes him on an unrewarding tour of Tokyo's nightlife of jazz , swing & American trappings . The next day Ikiru misses work ( for the first time ) & nobody can figure out what's going on with him . That same day he connects with his rather zany office girl who informs him that she's quit out of boredom . The girl takes him on another excursion & Ikiru spends a small fortune on her and the night's entertainment . This causes a rift with his son who thinks the worst ( i.e . that a scheming woman is going to deplete father's savings ) . This is another direct parallel with CHERRY BLOSSOMS . The relationship between the girl & Ikiru is complex and begins to unwind & deteriorate ( unlike CHERRY BLOSSOMS . ) They go separate ways . Nonetheless a spiritual process has been quietly ignited in him . His new quest in life mirrors back to the beginning of the movie with the women agitating to have the cess pool filled in . Ikiru takes it even further & becomes an unpretentious 1 man action committee . The remaining half hour follows his journey in this new sphere - - and even beyond . There is a priceless scene at his wake , where his co-workers , superiors & inferiors have assembled for a parting comedic shot at bureaucracy . It's perfect . As is the entire film . Cherry Blossoms The Hidden Fortress - Criterion Collection Kagemusha : The Criterion Collection [ Blu-ray ] Rashomon - Criterion Collection

  • realizing their mortality - that no one lives forever , determine what to do with their lives , and accomplish what they decide . Few people truly follow through on all three steps , or are able to do so . What the director Akira Kurosawa further demonstrates , which almost no other film attempts , is how so few observing people understand what motivates particular individuals to do the great and good things they do and how these observers in turn should respond in like manner and get busy . As is so cogently shown in the film , most people do not , cannot , follow through on their own from the example of living they observed . This raises the film above mere entertainment . It is sermonizing and evangelism without the negative connotations those words normally carry . It is a parable worthy of the teachings of the wisest people on Earth , even those of Jesus . It is the most moral film I have ever seen . ( Other reviews discuss the plot of the film quite well . Please take time to read them , if you wish . Sometimes a person's viewing pleasure is enhanced by not knowing in advance what is about to be seen . Just be sure to pay attention to what goes on in the film , for Akira Kurosawa does not spell things out or underline them for the viewer as do modern films from Hollywood . Repeated viewings of Ikiru may be needed to catch what the director / screenwriter sends your way . ) This film , now a half-century old , still communicates this needed message of how to live with excellence . From the acting skills of all the players to the elliptical means of the story's presentation with its portrayal of multiple viewpoints ( it's done so smoothly , with such assurance ) to the use of camera placement and angles to the integration of music to the action depicted to the use of editing techniques ( wipes , jump cuts and fade outs , as well as when NOT to use sound ) , this film displays its brilliance in all its 141 minutes of running time . ( NB , the film should be 143 minutes long per Donald Richie , but I have never seen at the theater , on VHS or on DVD , a version of this film longer than 141 minutes . The original negative was destroyed in a Toho studio fire . ) The tempo of the film may be slow for some viewers . Just relax , recalibrate the bio-rhythms and take in all that this terrific film has to offer . Note : the English subtitles on the video come from the 1960 Brandon Films release of this 1952 Japanese film into the United States . There are certain passages of dialogue that are not translated but would provide greater depth of understanding of the film if they had been . See Donald Richie's translation of the script , if possible . Revised subtitles with a newer , more complete translation , would be welcome .
    • 044 4  While I have not seen every movie made on the planet , I stand by the title of this review . I know of no other film which depicts so well what all human beings must go through : realizing their mortality - that no one lives forever , determine what to do with their lives , and accomplish what they decide . Few people truly follow through on all three steps , or are able to do so . What the director Akira Kurosawa further demonstrates , which almost no other film attempts , is how so few observing people understand what motivates particular individuals to do the great and good things they do and how these observers in turn should respond in like manner and get busy . As is so cogently shown in the film , most people do not , cannot , follow through on their own from the example of living they observed . This raises the film above mere entertainment . It is sermonizing and evangelism without the negative connotations those words normally carry . It is a parable worthy of the teachings of the wisest people on Earth , even those of Jesus . It is the most moral film I have ever seen . ( Other reviews discuss the plot of the film quite well . Please take time to read them , if you wish . Sometimes a person's viewing pleasure is enhanced by not knowing in advance what is about to be seen . Just be sure to pay attention to what goes on in the film , for Akira Kurosawa does not spell things out or underline them for the viewer as do modern films from Hollywood . Repeated viewings of Ikiru may be needed to catch what the director / screenwriter sends your way . ) This film , now a half-century old , still communicates this needed message of how to live with excellence . From the acting skills of all the players to the elliptical means of the story's presentation with its portrayal of multiple viewpoints ( it's done so smoothly , with such assurance ) to the use of camera placement and angles to the integration of music to the action depicted to the use of editing techniques ( wipes , jump cuts and fade outs , as well as when NOT to use sound ) , this film displays its brilliance in all its 141 minutes of running time . ( NB , the film should be 143 minutes long per Donald Richie , but I have never seen at the theater , on VHS or on DVD , a version of this film longer than 141 minutes . The original negative was destroyed in a Toho studio fire . ) The tempo of the film may be slow for some viewers . Just relax , recalibrate the bio-rhythms and take in all that this terrific film has to offer . Note : the English subtitles on the video come from the 1960 Brandon Films release of this 1952 Japanese film into the United States . There are certain passages of dialogue that are not translated but would provide greater depth of understanding of the film if they had been . See Donald Richie's translation of the script , if possible . Revised subtitles with a newer , more complete translation , would be welcome .
    • 056 4  This review is from : Ikiru [ VHS ] ( VHS Tape ) If you've read the previous reviews , you get the idea - - this is a truly great film , one that may ( believe it or not ) change your life . The scene on the swing is , maybe , the most profound and moving ever made . You'll see .
    • 057 4  If you've read the previous reviews , you get the idea - - this is a truly great film , one that may ( believe it or not ) change your life . The scene on the swing is , maybe , the most profound and moving ever made . You'll see .
    • 090 4  I am a JET , an American teaching English in Japan through the Japanese Exchange Teaching Program , and I have to spend one day a week at the Board of Education in the Town Hall . Although this particular town hall has a MUCH more sinister feel to it , the main part of the scene remains in tact . If you want to get a view into the inner workings of Japanese governmental society and a man , who could realistically be any number of government employees in Japan , bereft of spirit that has been stripped of him I suggest you buy this movie . You will not regret it unless you have a tremendous lack of patience or humanity . Probably the most moving movie I have ever seen !
    • 100 4  Ikiru is a classic . It's a simple movie that far exceeds the sum of its parts . There are many classic movies , but very few of them have such a timeless and relevant theme . Roger Ebert said that Ikiru might be one of the few movies that makes you rethink how you live your life , and I think he's right . You owe it to yourself to see this movie once . Life is short . Don't procrastinate . You'll be glad you did . If any movie inspires to live life to its fullest and to try and be a better person , it's Ikiru .
    • 115 4  I will not go into detail regarding this movie about a man with limited time . I will say that this could be one of the most traumatizing movies I have ever seen . If you are simply going through the motions in your life and you think that you are a living , connected person , check this movie out . If you don't get it , there is no hope for you .
    • 123 4  I have been told many times to keep the VHS tapes of important films , and Ikiru is definately one to keep in tape format . This DVD flickers and has large white lines down the center of the picture . Check out the scene where Wantanabe is in a restuarant with his new-found friend , and offers to spend 50,000 Yen on a good time . You can hardly see the two men ; the film flickers and whiteness enters the scene covering the entire picture , continuing for a long time , reaching into other scenes that follow . The sound is very scratchy , and the subtitles many many tikmes unreadable because of the whiteness and the constant flicker . Then there are the sharp white lines down the center . . . an unforgiveable transfer . I have the VHS tape . . great shape . Hang on to this or buy this tape fast before it goes out of print , and you are stuck with yet another bad Criterion transfer . Be warned . . this is the worst yet I have ever seen on DVD .

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