Ikiru (1952)
8.3 /10
1335 Reviews
Rate This Movie:
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Videos & Photos
cast
... Kanji Watanabe
... Sakai
... Mitsuo, son of Kanji
... Ohara
... Toyo
User reviews
Takashi Shimura is "Watanabe", an elderly civil service lifer who is told that he has terminal stomach cancer. After years of a disciplined, rather pedestrian existence he now feels a need to emancipate himself and start to live a little. The story is told through two threads: one looks at the end of the old gent's life from his own perspective; the second takes a retrospective view from the wake as his family and colleagues gather to remember him. Kurusawa is clearly making a point with this delicate, poignant film - perhaps life needs to be appreciated and enjoyed - not necessarily in a jovial, happy fashion, but by achievement. In this case "Watanabe" sets about using his position to help locals get a park, but he also starts an empowering relationship (platonic) with a younger girl, who is quite keen on her food, it has to be said. As his colleagues at the wake suffer from excesses of saké their traditionally stiff, reserved, view of their late friend becomes more of a tool to evaluate their own roles and purpose as they determine to be more like him.... The writing has plenty of humour and again, Kurosawa uses weather as a wonderfully potent instrument to create a great atmospheric feel to this gentle story of profound change, and - maybe - contentment.
Director:
Genres:
Release Date:
1952-10-09
Run Time:
143 min
MMPA Rating:
NR
Reviews of
Ikiru
Takashi Shimura is "Watanabe", an elderly civil service lifer who is told that he has terminal stomach cancer. After years of a disciplined, rather pedestrian existence he now feels a need to emancipate himself and start to live a little. The story is told through two threads: one looks at the end of the old gent's life from his own perspective; the second takes a retrospective view from the wake as his family and colleagues gather to remember him. Kurusawa is clearly making a point with this delicate, poignant film - perhaps life needs to be appreciated and enjoyed - not necessarily in a jovial, happy fashion, but by achievement. In this case "Watanabe" sets about using his position to help locals get a park, but he also starts an empowering relationship (platonic) with a younger girl, who is quite keen on her food, it has to be said. As his colleagues at the wake suffer from excesses of saké their traditionally stiff, reserved, view of their late friend becomes more of a tool to evaluate their own roles and purpose as they determine to be more like him.... The writing has plenty of humour and again, Kurosawa uses weather as a wonderfully potent instrument to create a great atmospheric feel to this gentle story of profound change, and - maybe - contentment.
I watched the English follow-up version (Living) before watching this original, and wished I had reversed my order. I liked Living much more than this original, but since both were written by the same Japanese scriptwriter, my preference might be cultural rather than due to quality issues, not to mention the scriptwriter had come up with improvements through the intervening years.
The club and bar scenes near the beginning seem to go on much longer than in the remake, or at least it felt like it! And the same for the later scenes with the young woman. Then again, that wouldn’t be surprising since this older version is 40 minutes longer.
Still, the differences in the details based on the separate cultures are interesting to note, and I recommend both versions, though I would start with the older one as I mentioned above.
Typical Kurasawa creative framing in the beginning of the movie. The scene of dancers shot through bead curtains swinging in time to the music was brilliant. His choice of Miki Odagiri for muse is brilliant. Her laugh is infectious. The last act stuck me as rather static. It's perhaps from cultural mores about the dead I don't understand (like the taboo of not ever sticking your chopsticks into the rice bowl!). Kurasawa waxes philosophical on life and government here, and indeed, nothing has changed in 70 years.
Cast & Crew of
Ikiru
Cast
... Kanji Watanabe
... Sakai
... Mitsuo, son of Kanji
... Ohara
... Toyo
... Kimura
... Noguchi
... Subordinate Clerk Saito
... Sub-Section Chief Ono
... Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
... Deputy Mayor
... Patient
... Intern
... Doctor
... Novelist
... The Maid
... Tatsu Watanabe
... Housewife
... Housewife
... Bar Hostess
... Housewife
... Kazue Watanabe
... City Assemblyman
... Newspaperman
... Yakuza Boss
... Yakuza
... Yakuza
... Newspaperman
... Newspaperman
... Park Section Chief
... Worker in General Affairs
... Policeman
... Bar Owner
... Worker in Sewage Section
... Pianist
... Dancer
... Stripper
... Baseball Spectator
... Civil Engineering Section Staff
... Park Division Staff
... Cabaret Woman
... Yakuza (uncredited)
... Yakuza (uncredited)
... Yakuza (uncredited)
... Housewife (uncredited)
... City Hall Executive (uncredited)
... General Manager (uncredited)
... Sanitation Division Receptionist (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Infectious Diseases Section Receptionist Staff (uncredited)
... Road Section Receptionist (uncredited)
... City Planning Receptionist (uncredited)
... Land Readjustment Section Receptionist (uncredited)
... Fire Department Staff (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Patient (uncredited)
... Jazz Bar Guest (uncredited)
... (uncredited)
... Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
... Schoolgirl (uncredited)
Crew
... Director
... Director of Photography
... Editor
... Screenplay
... Screenplay
... Producer
... Lighting Technician
... Sound Effects Editor
... Set Decoration
... Screenplay
... Original Music Composer
... Sound Recordist
![Ikiru (1952) Original Trailer [4K]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/geKhyNerWM8/mqdefault.jpg)
Similar Movies To
Ikiru
The Rules of the Game (1939)
7.481/10
The Marquis de la Chesnaye and his wife host a weekend gala where a variety of complicated romantic and social entanglements between guests and servants lead to tragedy, all against the backdrop of a looming war.
Release: 1939-07-09
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
7.983/10
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
Release: 1928-04-21
Platoon (1986)
7.7/10
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Release: 1986-12-19
Persona (1966)
8.133/10
A young nurse, Alma, is put in charge of Elisabeth Vogler: an actress who is seemingly healthy in all respects, but will not talk. As they spend time together, Alma speaks to Elisabeth constantly, never receiving any answer.
Release: 1966-10-18
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
7.302/10
A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.
Release: 1987-12-23
Roman Holiday (1953)
7.888/10
Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European princess Ann takes off for a night while in Rome. When a sedative she took from her doctor kicks in, however, she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley, who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.
Release: 1953-08-26
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
7.818/10
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
Release: 1968-06-12
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
8.004/10
In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.
Release: 1961-12-18
The Music Room (1958)
7.531/10
An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.
Release: 1958-10-10
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
7.401/10
A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.
Release: 1999-11-17
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
7.821/10
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Release: 1957-10-11
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
7.46/10
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
Release: 1951-09-18
Chinatown (1974)
7.909/10
Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together.
Release: 1974-06-20
M (1931)
8.06/10
In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous crimes are so repellant and disruptive to city life that he is even targeted by others in the seedy underworld network. With both cops and criminals in pursuit, the murderer soon realizes that people are on his trail, sending him into a tense, panicked attempt to escape justice.
Release: 1931-05-11
Umberto D. (1952)
7.878/10
When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.
Release: 1952-01-20
In the Mood for Love (2000)
8.088/10
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Release: 2000-09-29
2046 (2004)
7.224/10
Women enter and exit a science fiction author's life over the course of a few years after the author loses the woman he considers his one true love.
Release: 2004-09-29
Strangers on a Train (1951)
7.666/10
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
Release: 1951-06-27
Scarface (1932)
7.405/10
In 1920s Chicago, Italian immigrant and notorious thug, Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, aka Scarface, shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.
Release: 1932-04-09
A Few Good Men (1992)
7.543/10
When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.
Release: 1992-12-11