Ikiru (1952)

Ikiru (NR) - Review

"Old man take a look at my life"

Akira Kurusawa is primarily known in the west as the top Japanese Samurai period film director.  However, when you delve into his catalog it is movies like Ikiru that can really let you understand him as a film maker and a person.  The film (the title translates to "To Live" in english) is a little post WWII drama about an elderly government official who revels in his bureaucracy.  When he is diagnosed with cancer he recognizes the waste of his life and the waste of red tape and focuses on prioritizing the building of a  playground for local and unprivileged children.  Ikiru shines a spotlight on the Japanese government's inefficiency and waste, his society's inability to deal with the trauma of the postwar period and the fractured society of Japan itself.  Perhaps a bit hard to access for Americans (Japanese acting can appear over melodramatic) and being so early in his career it is dry and without much visual artistry, nevertheless Kurusawa's Ikiru is a simple masterful film made by a simple master.

7.5 Radiation Fears out of 10 (GOOD)