Can't say I agree with critical acclaim for Ikiru, all critics seem to be in perfect unison that it's a masterpiece. Perhaps, but also a very tedious one.
Yes I can appreciate the message about finding your meaning of life and making a difference etc but a film having a serious message doesn't mean it has to drag; Ikiru was very slow and rather long as well. Not a good combination.
What cheered up the film a bit was the female lead, the girl from the office... Ikiru, imo, has only one great scene; The girl showing her emotions at the restaurant, her sheer disgust/pity was quite fascinating to watch. Other than that it was the sad puppy face and slumped shoulders of the protagonist for almost couple hours which sure is memorable but also one note acting.
The wake scene, which consisted of almost last hour of the film, was some sort of critical social commentary on Japanese culture, way of thinking and bureaucracy - but also rather poor storytelling since it was hard for the viewer to relate to arguments by characters that had not really been introduced properly earlier in the film. More emotionally effective would have been to actually witness the protagonist perform his life altering bureaucratic heroics himself.
Well, to be fair, Kurosawa actually did show some of it using flashbacks...It seems that Kurosawa has a fetish for flashbacks, as seen in "Rashomon" as well. Yet those scenes in Ikiru were pretty much protagonist merely nodding and begging in apologetic manner. I found that less than convincing way to get the job done... or to achieve a legacy for that matter.
Oh well, at least they played Pachinko and visited a strip tease show.
But couple breaks from tedium and the life altering philosophy just couldn't save the film from its slow pace, predictability and dare I say rather mediocre cinematography. I'll give it 5/10.
Yes I can appreciate the message about finding your meaning of life and making a difference etc but a film having a serious message doesn't mean it has to drag; Ikiru was very slow and rather long as well. Not a good combination.
What cheered up the film a bit was the female lead, the girl from the office... Ikiru, imo, has only one great scene; The girl showing her emotions at the restaurant, her sheer disgust/pity was quite fascinating to watch. Other than that it was the sad puppy face and slumped shoulders of the protagonist for almost couple hours which sure is memorable but also one note acting.
The wake scene, which consisted of almost last hour of the film, was some sort of critical social commentary on Japanese culture, way of thinking and bureaucracy - but also rather poor storytelling since it was hard for the viewer to relate to arguments by characters that had not really been introduced properly earlier in the film. More emotionally effective would have been to actually witness the protagonist perform his life altering bureaucratic heroics himself.
Well, to be fair, Kurosawa actually did show some of it using flashbacks...It seems that Kurosawa has a fetish for flashbacks, as seen in "Rashomon" as well. Yet those scenes in Ikiru were pretty much protagonist merely nodding and begging in apologetic manner. I found that less than convincing way to get the job done... or to achieve a legacy for that matter.
Oh well, at least they played Pachinko and visited a strip tease show.
But couple breaks from tedium and the life altering philosophy just couldn't save the film from its slow pace, predictability and dare I say rather mediocre cinematography. I'll give it 5/10.