Review of Ikiru (1952) by Arafat H — 17 Sep 2009

The tale of an aging Tokyo bureaucrat in the city's department of Public Affairs, who discovers that he only has a few months left to live, and now must decide how he wishes to live those remaining days. While this obviously sounds like depressing material, there are many uplifting aspects to the film as well.

Akira Kurosowaâ??s film is about both life and death, as examined through the experience of man facing a terminal illness. The film is also an examination of the stagnancy of a bureaucracy, where change or positive action only results through almost heroic individual action in the face of resistance. Our protagonist admits that he has spent his entire career and also his life effectively doing nothing. This is the expectation of the goverment bureaucracy and now with time running out he must find a way to circumvent these obstacles. Another related theme, which is touched upon is the post-war reconstruction and the resulting changes to Japanese culture and society.

The title â??Ikiruâ?? means â??to liveâ?? and one of the primary messageâ??s of the film seems to be that you should live your life to the fullest and donâ??t let it just pass you by.

The film has a very strong story and production values, as well as a number of great performances. In particular the performance of Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe the films central character must be mentioned. Those familiar with Kurosowa's other films may recognize Shimura from other appearances including that of the lead Samurai in Seven Samurai.

For me the most lasting impressions of the film are some wonderful and very poignant images as well as the films message.