Ikiru (film)

directed by Akira Kurosawa
written by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni

(script)

I was wondering why, in Kurosawa's adaptation of THE IDIOT, the filmmaker decided to excise a huge plot thread about a man coming to grips with the knowledge that he will soon die. It wasn't a particularly strong thread and I was glad to see it go, but I'm still surprised Kurosawa didn't do something with it.

Well, I guess this is the answer: he gave it it's own film.

Takashi Shimura plays Kanji Watanabe, an aging echo of a man who leads a department in City Hall which was created for the sole purpose of keeping "useless causes" out of the hands of the other divisions. All day long, for the last few decade, he would just shuffle through sheet after sheet, stamping them with his seal. He doesn't hang out after work with friends, he doesn't have fun, he doesn't do anything besides eat, sleep, flip a sheet, stamp.

But then comes stomach cancer and a realization that he only has six months to live. What would you do in his situation? Would you just let yourself fade away, or would you try to go out and make the most of your time? Well, it's the latter course that Watanabe follows, though his social inexperience leaves him a little stuck as to how he should see such an endeavor through. Thus begins a pair of extended episodes as Watanabe latches onto a drunk author in a bar and a young woman at his office, connections that will take him through the whirling dancing and drinking of the Japanese night-life and the joy of simple youthful exuberance.

It really is a beautiful story and Kurosawa is at the peak of his skill, swaying from delicate jaunts, to shaded moments of despair, to the chaotic flurry of party after party after party. If there's one place it stumbles, it's in the last 40 or so minutes.

As I said in my review of the script, I like the idea of picking up the story after Watanabe's death, exploring how his final act really did have meaning and a positive affect on those who were willing to allow it to, but it just drags on and on for far, far too long, and becomes more about the clutter of bureaucratic red tape than the accomplishments of this fallen man.

And, as much as I hate to say it, I wasn't completely sold on Shimura's performance. Now, hold on. Hear me out. He's an absolutely stunning actor, definitely one of my favorites in the history of the industry, but there were far too many moments (and this is partially the result of Kurosawa's precise, unforgiving composition) that felt artificial. Instead of looking weak or depressed, he truly looked like he was playing someone weak or depressed. In other words, I didn't buy it. And his voice, his unconvincingly hoarse and whispery voice, only made it worse. That said, Shimura is still a damned captivating presence on screen and whatever he overplayed through his voice and posture he more than made up for with his eyes. Only through them did I see the true depth of his despair and eventual moments of hope and perseverance.

I know some will scoff at me for arguing that the film isn't perfect. I'm sorry, I can't help the way I genuinely feel about something. That said, I do still hold it up as a classic of cinema that should be watched, appreciated, and treasured from now to the end of time. None of those flaws I mentioned are enough to tarnish the majority of elements which it not only got right, but mastered.

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review written on 11/22/08