I Live in Fear (1955)

An aging Japanese industrialist becomes so fearful of nuclear war that it begins to take a toll on his life and family.

Director:

Akira Kurosawa

Writers:

Shinobu Hashimoto, Fumio Hayasaka (story)

Stars:

Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Toshirô Mifune	...	Kiichi Nakajima
Takashi Shimura	...	Domestic Court Counselor Dr. Harada
Minoru Chiaki	...	Jiro Nakajima
Eiko Miyoshi	...	Toyo Nakajima
Kyôko Aoyama	...	Sue Nakajima
Haruko Tôgô	...	Yoshi Nakajima
Noriko Sengoku	...	Kimie Nakajima
Akemi Negishi	...	Asako Kuribayashi
Hiroshi Tachikawa	...	Ryoichi Sayama
Kichijirô Ueda	...	Mr. Kuribayashi father
Eijirô Tôno	...	Old man from Brazil
Yutaka Sada	...	Ichiro Nakajima
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Okamoto
Ken Mitsuda	...	Judge Araki
Masao Shimizu	...	Yamazaki, Yoshi's husband (as Gen Shimizu)

Storyline

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is so frightened and obsessed with the idea of nuclear extermination that his family decides to have him ruled incompetent. Nakajima's fervent wish is for his family to join him in escaping from Japan to the relative safety of South America. Harada, a civil volunteer in the case, sympathizes with Nakajima's conviction, but the old man's irrational behaviour prevents the court from taking his fears seriously.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear | foundry | all knowing psychiatrist | financial worries | nuclear hysteria | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

25 January 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

What the Birds Knew

Filming Locations:

Toho Studios, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,942, 28 July 2002

Gross USA:

$46,808

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,808

Company Credits

Production Co:

Toho Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of three Kurosawa films warning viewers of the dangers of nuclear power. The other two were Dreams and Rhapsody In August.

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Quotes

Kiichi Nakajima: [seeing the sun from his window] Oh! The Earth is burning!

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Connections

Referenced in Rhapsody in August (1991)

User Reviews

Story of patriarch, thought mad by family, who wants to re-locate to South America for fear of nuclear attack.

I Live in Fear is yet another masterpiece by Akira Kurosawa. It tells the story of an aging patriarch who is terrified nuclear attack will destroy his family and the business he has worked to build up his entire life. His children do not wish to leave the comfortable life in Japan which his labours have provided. They believe he is mad and take him to family court for mediation. It becomes the difficult duty of a mediator to decide whether his fears are rational or not. The shadow of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are palpable in the feverish eyes of legendary actor Toshiro Mifune as the father. A thought-provoking time capsule of post-war Japan, the combination of Kurosawa and Mifune should never be missed.