The second of Toho's double-bill looking at the legacy of the nuclear bomb attacks on Japan, the other being GODZILLA; these two films couldn't be more chalk and cheese if they tried. While one's a rousing, hugely influential monster flick, Akira Kurosawa's I LIVE IN FEAR is a much quieter and more reflective work that looks at the mental disintegration of an individual as a direct consequence of America's bombing campaign. It's dark, sombre and altogether depressing come the end, yet watchable too thanks to the technical values and a typically convincing turn from Toshiro Mifune, who really loses himself in the role. If IKIRU was Kurosawa's film about physical illness, then I LIVE IN FEAR is his companion piece exploration of mental illness.
Review of I Live in Fear
