Ikiru is a film about life. Constantly complex and thought-provoking, although simple at the same time; it tells a story about life's limits, how we perceive life and the fact that life is short and not to be wasted. Our hero is Kanji Watanabe, the most unlikely 'hero' of all time. He works in a dreary city office, where nothing happens and it's all very meaningless. Watanabe is particularly boring, which has lead to him being nicknamed 'The Mummy' by a fellow worker. He later learns that he is dying from stomach cancer and that he only has six months to live. But Watanabe has been dead for thirty years, and now that he's learned that his life has a limit; it's time for Watanabe to escape his dreary life and finally start living. What follows is probably the most thoughtful analysis of life ever filmed.

Ikiru marks a departure for Akira Kurosawa, a man better known for his samurai films, but it's a welcome departure in my opinion. Kurosawa constantly refers to Watanabe as 'our hero' throughout the film, and at first this struck me as rather odd because, as I've mentioned, he's probably the least likely hero that Kurosawa has ever directed; but that's just it! This man is not a superhero samurai, but rather an ordinary guy that decides he doesn't want to be useless anymore. That's why he's 'our hero'. Kurosawa makes us feel for the character every moment he's on screen - we're sorry that he's wasted his life, and we're sorry that his wasted life is about to be cruelly cut short. However, despite the bleak and miserable facade that this movie gives out, there is a distinct beauty about it that shines through. The beauty emits from the way that Watanabe tries to redeem his life; because we feel for him and are with him every step of the way, it's easy to see why Watanabe acts in the way he does. Ikiru is a psychologically beautiful film.

It could be said that the fantastic first hour and a half is let down by a more politically based final third - and this is true. The movie needs it's final third in order to finish telling the story, but it really doesn't work as well as the earlier parts did. However, Kurosawa still delights us with some brilliant imagery and the shot of Watanabe on a swing is the most poetically brilliant thing that Kurosawa ever filmed. Together with the music and the rest of the film that you've seen so far; that picture that Kurosawa gives us is as moving as it is brilliant.

The main character, so ably played in this movie, is an older bureaucrat whose life has little, if any, significance. After 30 years on the job, he has little to show for himself. This becomes very apparent once he finds out that he is dying from stomach cancer and has only months to live.

Now, so far, this does NOT sound like a movie most people would want to see. However, instead of dwelling on death and the meaningless of life, Kurasawa goes beyond that. Much of the movie actually focuses on this man trying to find meaning in his life and ultimately deciding to devote his final days to fighting for the creation of a park in some godforsaken part of Tokyo. Despite a general atmosphere of apathy, he ultimately succeeds in getting the park created.

About 2/3 of the way through the picture, the man dies. I thought the movie was over, but then it cuts to a scene at his funeral. A group of bureaucrats and the deputy mayor attend, but few others. What happens next is important, as the movie becomes very philosophical and those in attendance begin to ponder his life and their own as well.

In many ways, this movie is both uplifting and cynical. I won't say much more but encourage you to see it for itself. I will say, though, that unlike Bergman's films (which often have talked about death or mental illness),Ikiru is unusual in that it seeks meaning and goes beyond "life is meaningless and then you die".

As a great fan of Akira Kurasawa, Ikiru is not just Kurasawa's most moving film it is one of his very finest alongside Seven Samurai and Ran. It is as always beautifully made, sumptuous in look and the cinematography simple yet interesting. Kurasawa's direction is at its most delicate, making a story that could easily be mawkish and manipulative into a genuinely moving, powerful and quite inspiring one instead, and making us also care every step of the way for the dignified central character of Watanabe. Together with a hypnotic score, a thought-provoking script and a powerful, yet in a discreet and heart-wrenching way, lead performance from Takeshi Shimura, and you have a fantastic film.

Overall, I can't praise Ikiru enough. Any complaints of how the final third is not as good as the rest of the movie is valid but I didn't care so much after being moved and inspired so much by the film. 10/10 Bethany Cox