Ikiru

Ikiru

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This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (May 2015) Click [show] for important translation instructions. [show] View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|ja|生きる (映画)}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Ikiru
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Akira Kurosawa
Produced by	Sōjirō Motoki
Screenplay by	Akira Kurosawa Shinobu Hashimoto Hideo Oguni
Starring	Takashi Shimura Miki Odagiri
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Cinematography	Asakazu Nakai
Edited by	Kōichi Iwashita
Distributed by	Toho
Release dates	October 9, 1952 (1952-10-09)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Ikiru (生きる^?, "To Live") is a 1952 Japanese film directed and co-written by Akira Kurosawa. The film examines the struggles of a minor Tokyo bureaucrat and his final quest for meaning. The script was partly inspired by Leo Tolstoy's 1886 novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, although the plots are not similar beyond the common theme of a bureaucrat struggling with a terminal illness.^[1] It stars Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe.

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1 Plot summary
• 2 Cast
• 3 Reception
• 4 Awards
• 5 Remake
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Plot summary[edit]

Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura) is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for thirty years. His wife is dead and his son and daughter-in-law, who live with him, seem to care mainly about Watanabe's pension and their future inheritance.

After learning he has stomach cancer and less than a year to live, Watanabe attempts to come to terms with his impending death. He plans to tell his son about the cancer, but decides against it when his son does not pay attention to him. He then tries to find escape in the pleasures of Tokyo's nightlife, guided by an eccentric novelist whom he just met. In a nightclub, Watanabe requests a song from the piano player, and sings "Gondola no Uta" with great sadness. His singing greatly affects those watching him. After one night submerged in the nightlife, he realizes this is not the solution.

The following day, Watanabe encounters a young female subordinate, Toyo, who needs his signature on her resignation. He is attracted to her joyous love of life and enthusiasm and tries to spend as much time as possible with her. She eventually becomes suspicious of his intentions and grows weary of him. After convincing her to join him for the last time, he opens up and asks for the secret to her love of life. She says that she doesn't know, but that she found happiness in her new job making toys, which makes her feel like she is playing with all the children of Japan and that he should find a purpose in his own life.

Inspired by her, Watanabe realizes that it is not too late for him and that he still can do something. He then dedicates his remaining time and energy to accomplish one worthwhile achievement before his life ends. Through his tireless and persistent efforts, he is able to overcome the stagnation of bureaucracy and turn a mosquito-infested cesspool into a children's playground.

The last third of the film takes place during Watanabe's wake, as his former co-workers try to figure out what caused such a dramatic change in his behavior. His transformation from listless bureaucrat to passionate advocate puzzles them. As the co-workers drink, they slowly realize that Watanabe must have known he was dying, even when his son denies this, as he was unaware of his father's condition. They drunkenly vow to live their lives with the same dedication and passion as he did. But back at work, they lack the courage of their newfound conviction.

An iconic scene from the film is from the last few moments in Watanabe's life, as he sits on the swing at the park he built. As the snow falls, we see Watanabe gazing lovingly over the playground, at peace with himself and the world. He again starts singing "Gondola no Uta".

Cast[edit]

Takashi Shimura

• Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe
• Shinichi Himori as Kimura
• Haruo Tanaka as Sakai
• Minoru Chiaki as Noguchi
• Bokuzen Hidari as Ohara
• Miki Odagiri as Toyo Odagiri, employee
• Kamatari Fujiwara as Sub-Section Chief Ōno
• Nobuo Nakamura as Deputy Mayor
• Yūnosuke Itō as Novelist
• Minosuke Yamada as Subordinate Clerk Saito
• Makoto Kobori as Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother
• Nobuo Kaneko as Mitsuo Watanabe, Kanji's son
• Atsushi Watanabe as Patient
• Noriko Honma as Housewife

Reception[edit]

The film has a 100% positive rating based on 30 reviews from critics at the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.^[2]

Ikiru ranks 459th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.^[3] Ranked #44 in Empire magazines "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.^[4]

Roger Ebert included it in his Great Movies reviews in 1996, saying: "Over the years I have seen Ikiru every five years or so, and each time it has moved me, and made me think. And the older I get, the less Watanabe seems like a pathetic old man, and the more he seems like every one of us."^[5] In his Great Movies review of Seven Samurai Ebert called it Kurosawa's greatest film.^[6][7]

Awards[edit]

Won

• 1954 4th Berlin International Film Festival: "Special Prize of the Senate of Berlin"^[8]

Nominated

• 4th Berlin International Film Festival: Golden Bear^[9]

Remake[edit]

• Ikiru was remade as a television drama that debuted on TV Asahi on September 9, 2007, and it starred the kabuki actor Matsumoto Kōshirō IX. Set in 2007, some characters and plot lines were changed.