Ikiru (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

One of the best films ever made. This is Kurosawa true masterpiece. His other films were bigger budget and had larger plots, and more prestigious casts, but there is no story that he ever told that tops this film he made early on in his career. It’s especially meaningful for Buddhists, so get it and take its message to heart

While I have not seen every movie made on the planet, I stand by the title of this review. I know of no other film which depicts so well what all human beings must go through: realizing their mortality - that no one lives forever, determine what to do with their lives, and accomplish what they decide. Few people truly follow through on all three steps, or are able to do so. What the director Akira Kurosawa further demonstrates, which almost no other film attempts, is how so few observing people understand what motivates particular individuals to do the great and good things they do and how these observers in turn should respond in like manner and get busy. As is so cogently shown in the film, most people do not, cannot, follow through on their own from the example of living they observed. This raises the film above mere entertainment. It is sermonizing and evangelism without the negative connotations those words normally carry. It is a parable worthy of the teachings of the wisest people on Earth, even those of Jesus. It is the most moral film I have ever seen. (Other reviews discuss the plot of the film quite well. Please take time to read them, if you wish. Sometimes a person's viewing pleasure is enhanced by not knowing in advance what is about to be seen. Just be sure to pay attention to what goes on in the film, for Akira Kurosawa does not spell things out or underline them for the viewer as do modern films from Hollywood. Repeated viewings of "Ikiru" may be needed to catch what the director/screenwriter sends your way.) This film, now a half-century old, still communicates this needed message of how "to live" with excellence. From the acting skills of all the players to the elliptical means of the story's presentation with its portrayal of multiple viewpoints (it's done so smoothly, with such assurance) to the use of camera placement and angles to the integration of music to the action depicted to the use of editing techniques (wipes, jump cuts and fade outs, as well as when NOT to use sound), this film displays its brilliance in all its 141 minutes of running time. (NB, the film should be 143 minutes long per Donald Richie, but I have never seen at the theater, on VHS or on DVD, a version of this film longer than 141 minutes. The original negative was destroyed in a Toho studio fire.) The tempo of the film may be slow for some viewers. Just relax, recalibrate the bio-rhythms and take in all that this terrific film has to offer. Note: the English subtitles on the video come from the 1960 Brandon Films release of this 1952 Japanese film into the United States. There are certain passages of dialogue that are not translated but would provide greater depth of understanding of the film if they had been. See Donald Richie's translation of the script, if possible. Revised subtitles with a newer, more complete translation, would be welcome.

I don't want to get carried away with comparisons but I couldn't help but compare "Ikiru" to It's a Wondersul Life". Each movie shows a man faced with a crisis who is forced to evaluate the meaning of his life. I suspect that most of us have seen "It's a Wonderful Life" in which the hero, George Bailey, discovers that his life has been far more meaningful than he ever realized. "Ikiru" shows us an opposite discovery for its' hero, Kanji Wantanabe, a widower. He is a mid-level bureaucrat who discovers that he has a terminal disease. As he contemplates the meaning of it all, he remembers a joke he heard at the office in which the value of his work is mocked. Has his life amounted to anything? In a poingnant series of flashbacks to his earlier life, we see a number of scenes that tell us of the two relationships in his life. We sense the sudden loss of his wife but it is the marvelously created scenes of his fading relationship with his son that touches us the deepest. I'm not sure I've seen many more touching scenes that the one at the train station when his son goes off to war. Thus his life has failed at relationships and at his professional career. What can he do with the time he has left? The answer comes from a young lady who works at his office and is wonderfully played by an actress who, I'm sorry to say, was not identified (in English) on the cast and credits. Wantanabe realizes that he still has time to do something with his life and goes about trying to do just that. I won't say anymore about the plot because the beauty of the movie is watching things come together. As a matter of fact, the way the director moves about in time allows us to piece the puzzle together retrospectively. The funeral is where we learn of the success and the different, often self-centered, perspectives add to the impact of the message. The ending is a reminder to us all that we can choose whether or not we, too, want to make a difference. However, just saying so doesn't count. The director, Akira Kurosawa, has created another masterpiece of the human spirit. The acting is very well done. Takashi Shimura seemed to me, at times, to be too detached from his role. However, I came to realize that he was acting the role of a man who was too detached from life itself. This is a film worth seeing. Unlike "It's a Wonderful Life" we don't come away feeling that life's a celebration. Instead, we come away realizing that life's a responsibility. Amen.

Wenn man langsame Filme mag, dann ist dieses Portrait eines einsamen Mannes sehr gelungen. Kurosawa ist natürlich immer gut. Punkt.

En underbar film om betydelsen av att ta tillvara på den tid man har d.v.s. göra bästa möjliga av tiden. Fenomenalt skådespeleri inte minst av huvudrollsinnehavaren Takashi Shimura som arbetade en hel del med regissören Akira Kurosawa under sin karriär.

ce genre de film vous transporte, vous donne une énergie incroyable. C'est simple comme tout, mais si beau. Ca montre que la vie peut être belle une fois qu'on a compris ce qu'on devait y faire.

One of Kurosawa's finest films and it now looks the best it ever has. Fantastic scan.

※クライテリオン４Ｋリマスター版Blu-rayのレビューです。 黒澤明監督作品の中でも好きな三作のうち、「七人の侍」が人の強さを殺陣で、「羅生門」が人の醜さを喜劇で、そしてこの「生きる」が人の尊さを悲劇で魅せる傑作だ。 1952年公開、戦後間もない混乱の中で、市役所勤続30年の堅物の市民課長が突然の余命宣告を突きつけられ、そこから“生きる意味”を探す旅をさすらい、遂には住民悲願の公共公園の建設を成し遂げて他界するまでを追ったストーリーだ。 戦後勃興期の街の喧騒や人々の活気が描かれ、書類の山に埋もれながら決裁書に黙々と印を押す役人の姿や政界に意欲を燃やす市の助役、住民達の陳情を平気でタライ回しにする日本人らしい各課の怠慢も厳しい風刺として描かれる。 これらの社会風刺や職業倫理を縦糸とすれば、主人公と息子夫婦との世知辛いスレ違いは横糸だ。早くに妻を失った男が誠心誠意に育ててきた息子との絆の崩壊は観ていて心が荒む。 その絶望感に共感してくれた小説家の助けや、若い女性の生命力すらも、ぽっかり空いた心の隙間を埋めてくれそうにない前半の悲しい展開は観ていて辛すぎる。 この打ちひしがれた渡邊課長を演じた志村喬は、まさに神がかっており、2年後の「七人の侍」の冷静沈着なリーダー島田勘兵衛とは似ても似つかない。その虚ろな眼光や壊れそうな佇まい、魂から絞られたような声に至るまで迫真にして完璧だ。恐らく邦画としては最高の演技だろう。 60人を超えてクレジットされた脇を固める役者の演技も圧倒的だ。台詞の間の取り方や強弱はまさに黒澤劇場で、モノクロにも係わらず艶やかな色彩にすら見える鮮明な舞台をところ狭しと縦横に動き回る群像達の生命力がとにかく凄いのだ。 雪降る公園のブランコで口ずさむ「コンドラの唄」や似つかわしくない派手な帽子、オモチャのウサギ人形等の印象的なアイコンも工夫されていて、その緻密な組み立てには心から感心する。 黒澤明ならではの陰影深い画面と人生の悲劇と闘う男の熱きヒューマンドラマに、誰もが眼を釘付けにされることだろう。 東宝版と見比べてはいないが、クライテリオン版の画質と音声は文句なし。黒澤明を海外に紹介する映像特典も充実していて満足だ。 「人生は幾つになっても闘える」 日本人の職業倫理と家族観に多大な影響を与えた本作は、観る者の人生の糧になる最良の邦画として指折りの☆７級推薦作です。未観の方は是非一度ご覧いただきたい。