Ikiru on DVD (1952)

PeaceNick from Hampshire , 01/12/2003

Imagine "It's a Wonderful Life", but at the point where Jimmy Stewart realises life IS worth living, we cut to his wake, seeing none of his triumph or redemption. At the wake, everyone who crushed him at the start of the film takes credit for solving all his problems.

The wake opens with the self-righteous opinions of his superiors, whose contempt for the individual is shattered by the genuine grief of the mothers Watanabe worked for at the end. As the wake progresses, those closest to him begin to realise just what a difference Watanabe made and pledge to follow his example. At this point I suspect the oft-mooted Hollywood remake would close with a slow zoom to Watanabe's saintly photo.

Kurosawa, however, knows us better than this. As soon as Watanabe's colleagues get the opportunity to follow his example, they abandon the idea, returning to the lingering death of spirit that Watanabe only escaped by becoming terminally ill.

This being Kurosawa, you don't just get a fascinating story, beautifully told and heart-rendingly acted, you also get a visual and aural feast: from the oppression of Watanabe's office, to the drunken whirl of an impossibly packed Tokyo nightclub, to the beauty of Watanabe's passing.

Ikiru tells us so much about our society that sadly has not changed since we first started to surrender our potential as a species to the soulless security of rigid bureaucracy.

Well, no more! I'm going to turn over a new leaf! His death will not be in vain!

  18 out of 18 people found this review helpful

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Paul Meredith from Halifax , 11/08/2004

Shimura?s pen-pusher realises that after 30 years in the same job his life has had little meaning. Suffering from stomach cancer and a strained relationship with his son, he decides to live life to the full in what time he has left, before realising that such exuberance is a momentary feeling, and it is worsening his health.

Instead, he decides to put his efforts into something more worthwhile that will be beneficial to others. The conclusion, looking back at his legacy through the eyes of others, becomes a damnation of both selfishness and apathy on their part.

Perhaps slightly overlong, the film remains powerful and still relevant after all this time. Shimura?s sad eyes alone are enough to bring tears to your own.

  7 out of 7 people found this review helpful

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Saty from Reading , 05/07/2004

story of a bureaucrat who on finding he has stomach cancer tries to find ways to cope before finally realizing that he has never had a strong goal in life and tries to put that right in his last months and just when you think it is a heart-warming story of redemption there is a cynical but realistic twist, a must see film

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

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TheKeyboardDemon from Middlesex , 27/07/2004

I thought the film started slowly, and found Watanabe a very difficult character to like, he was totally without feeling. But then something happens, he discovers he is terminally ill, and goes through a rapid spiral of change until he comes out a completely new man. A man with a purpose.

This film is so beautifully shot, the story so gracefully told and the Watanabe character is so intimately revealed, it is a magic film. If sitting through this film doesn't make you think about your own life then you must surely need to watch it again.

  6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

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