Review of Ikiru (1952) by Ken R — 24 Aug 2010
This is where true film making takes over and petty technique gets left behind. Sure it could be trimmed a little bit, or a little more tightly edited, or a little better acted (though Takashi Shimura performance ranks as his career best!) but every single complaint that could be raised against this film just comes across as so shallow.
Emperor Joseph in Amadeus tells Mozart his latest masterpiece has "too many notes". Ikiru rises above all petty criticism by capturing the meaning of Life like no other film has. Rising above it's very medium, Ikiru transcends into high art by capturing and reflecting the very nature of man.
Kurosawa tells us not to waste our lives, and compels us to take the lessons of his protagonist to heart, the way that his coworkers pledge to, but then mostly ignore. We are better than they!
This review of Ikiru (1952) was written by Ken R on 24 Aug 2010.
Ikiru has generally received very positive reviews.
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