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Wikipedia
Ikiru (生きる "To Live") is a 1952 Japanese film co-written and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a minor Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning. The film stars Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe.
Plot
Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future inheritance.
After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a year to live, Watanabe attempts to come to terms with his impending death. He plans to tell his son about the cancer, but decides against it when his son does not pay attention to him. He then tries to find escape in the pleasures of Tokyo's nightlife, but after one night realizes this is not the solution. In a nightclub, Watanabe requests a song from the piano player, and sings "Gondola no Uta" with great sadness. His singing greatly affects those watching him. The song is a ballad encouraging young women to find love while they are still young and beautiful, for life is short.
The following day, a chance encounter with one of his former subordinates leads him to pursue a different course. Watanabe is attracted to her joyous love of life and enthusiasm. He opens up to her by saying he just wants to live one day in such a carefree, youthful way as she does. She reveals that her happiness comes from her new job making toys, which makes her feel like she is playing with all the children of Japan.
Inspired by her example, Watanabe dedicates his remaining time to accomplishing one worthwhile achievement before his life ends; through his persistent efforts, he is able to overcome the inertia of bureaucracy and turn a mosquito-infested cesspool into a children's playground.
The last third of the film takes place during Watanabe's wake, as his former co-workers try to figure out what caused such a dramatic change in his behavior. His transformation from listless bureaucrat to passionate advocate puzzles them. As the co-workers drink, they slowly realize that Watanabe must have known he was dying. They drunkenly vow to live their lives with the same dedication and passion as he did. But back at work, they lack the courage of their newfound conviction.
An iconic scene from the film is from the last few moments in Watanabe's life, as he sits on the swing at the park he built. As the snow falls, we see Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground, at peace with himself and the world. He again starts singing "Gondola no Uta".
[edit]Cast
- Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe
- Shinichi Himori as Kimura
- Haruo Tanaka as Sakai
- Minoru Chiaki as Noguchi
- Bokuzen Hidari as Ohara
- Kamatari Fujiwara as Sub-Section Chief Ono
[edit]Reception
The film has an 100% positive rating based on 30 reviews from critics at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.[1]
Ikiru ranks 459th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[2]
Roger Ebert included it in his Great Movies reviews in 1996 saying "Over the years I have seen Ikiru every five years or so, and each time it has moved me, and made me think. And the older I get, the less Watanabe seems like a pathetic old man, and the more he seems like every one of us."[4] In his Great Movies review of Seven Samurai Ebert called it Kurosawa's greatest film.[5]
[edit]Awards
- Won
- 1953 Bucharest Film Festival: Golden Wolf
- 1954 4th Berlin International Film Festival: "Special Prize of the Senate of Berlin" [6]
- Nominated
[edit]Remake
- Ikiru was remade as a television drama that debuted on TV Asahi on September 9, 2007, and it starred the kabuki actor Matsumoto Kōshirō IX. Set in 2007, some characters and plot lines were changed.
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