Ikiru
Year: 1952
Grade: A
Country: Japan
Director: Kurosawa
Review1952 – there are only a handful of films that have this kind of impact on me upon first viewing. it’s easy to see why this is considered by many to be kurosawa’s masterpiece. the first third sets up the primary characters, the situation of a dying man who has yet to live life, and the relationships (father/son, government/people, etc.) that progress throughout the film. the middle third is largely concentrated on watanabe dealing with the realization of his own mortality and searching for a meaningful experience. the last third is told after his death in a style that is reminiscent of “citizen kane” (1941) and “rashomon” (1950) before it, and “broadway danny rose” (1984) after it. his co-workers reminisce over the last five months of his life. it’s here that the film really shines. all the investments of the first 1hr 45minutes are paid back. i don’t really know what to else say about it other than it’s some of the most moving footage i’ve ever seen in film. it’s depressing, uplifting, fatalistic and optimistic all at once. it’s like the last part of rashomon, only longer and better. if you’ll remember in kurosawa’s telling of rashomon the three men are disgusted by humanity and all that they’ve just discused regarding the crime that was committed. the rain lifts at some point and they discover a baby. one of the men vows to take care of it – interjecting a bit of humanity in an inhumane world. i think kurosawa and i are pretty similar. we both see a very dark side of humanity, yet ultimately have the highest hopes for it. by the way some of the faces in this film are just amazing. watanabe’s character is the obvious one, but the restauranteur who tries shutting watanabe up also has a great face for his character. there’s so much to be said about this film. the soundtrack wasn’t as prevalent as it was in yojimbo, but when it was there it definitely made its presence felt and truly added to the emotion of the scene. two examples are the final scene and the scene wherein a fellow patient reveals to him the symptoms of advanced stomach cancer – thus notifying watanabe that he is going to die. i’ll take notes next time.