Ikiru (1952)

A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto,

Stars:

Takashi Shimura, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka

Top 250 #132 | Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 5 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takashi Shimura	...	Kanji Watanabe
Shin'ichi Himori	...	Kimura
Haruo Tanaka	...	Sakai
Minoru Chiaki	...	Noguchi
Miki Odagiri	...	Toyo Odagiri, employee
Bokuzen Hidari	...	Ohara
Minosuke Yamada	...	Subordinate Clerk Saito
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Sub-Section Chief Ono
Makoto Kobori	...	Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
Nobuo Kaneko	...	Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son
Nobuo Nakamura	...	Deputy Mayor
Atsushi Watanabe	...	Patient
Isao Kimura	...	Intern
Masao Shimizu	...	Doctor
Yûnosuke Itô	...	Novelist

Storyline

Kanji Watanabe is a longtime bureaucrat in a city office who, along with the rest of the office, spends his entire working life doing nothing. He learns he is dying of cancer and wants to find some meaning in his life. He finds himself unable to talk with his family, and spends a night on the town with a novelist, but that leaves him unfulfilled. He next spends time with a young woman from his office, but finally decides he can make a difference through his job... After Watanabe's death, co-workers at his funeral discuss his behavior over the last several months and debate why he suddenly became assertive in his job to promote a city park, and resolve to be more like Watanabe.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | office | dying | bureaucrat | park | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

25 March 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Doomed

Filming Locations:

Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$7,590 (USA) (3 January 2003)

Gross:

$55,240 (USA) (26 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

143 min 123 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song sung by Kanji Watanabe, in the bar, is called Gondola no Uta, "The Gondola Song". Written in 1915, it is a song about women and how they should find love before their time has run out.

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Goofs

In the last scene with Toyo (in the restaurant with the birthday party going on), the position of the bell on the mechanical bunny changes, even though neither actor has touched the bunny.

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Quotes

Novelist: How tragic that man can never realize how beautiful life is until he is face to face with death.

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Connections

Referenced in Nowhere to Hide (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo"
(uncredited)
Written by Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston
heard in the background immediately after Watanabe and Kimura leave the striptease show

User Reviews

The most moving and human film I have ever seen.

I can safely say that I have seen no finer film than Kurosawa's true masterpiece, Ikiru. The story of a dying petty bureaucrat in 1950's Japan, Ikiru is as uncompromisingly honest and beautiful a film as has ever been made on the subject of life. Kurosawa elevates a story that could have been simple melodrama to the level of masterwork with a genuine love of his characters, and with an incredible technical direction. The film's structure accentuates and deepens its many, many lessons on life, and the performances, including a heartbreakingly earnest turn by Shimura are all flawless.

In short, Ikiru is easily one of the greatest works committed to film, and no discerning film aficionado should avoid experiencing it. Had Kurosawa directed only this film, it would still be enough to include him in the pantheon of the greatest storytellers who ever lived. Fortunately for us, it is simply the pinnacle of a staggeringly amazing career. It is the absolute definition of a 10/10 film.