3 out of 5

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Cerebral? Emotional? Dark? …Fairly surface. I still havent really gotten Kurosawa, which I know is a sin. As is the case of my reviews of any classic films, this little blurb will serve more as a reminder of my own thoughts than something helpful. What I get about Kurosawa is the passion and the focus. Ive seen three films thus far, and you can feel the effort and thought put into the characters and the scenes. And some moments are amazing, and some setups and shots and blends are perfect. It is truly shocking for its time to see something so professional and polished. But I remain fairly unaffected. Ikiru is about an aged government official who finds out that hes dying of stomach cancer and then realizes hes done nothing useful with his life. In the remaining months he searches for the energy that other people have until he can find direction. The film has an interesting narrative structure, letting its lead die before the end, and narrating at the start of the movie that his death will occur, and also takes – what seems to me – a pretty decisively critical cynical stance on convoluted government. Im not saying I feel unaffected because the plot isnt original – I understand timing of movies, and how something done in the 50s was newer then than now. I just dont feel it. Thus far Kurosawas ideas have struck me as intelligent understandings of ideas and an intelligent, studied application of filming and editing. Any article on Kurosawa talks more about his techniques than the films, and theres something about that… that the mystique of his genius overtakes the actual film. However, sometimes you just have to see the right one for the rest to make sense. So Ill continue through his catalogue with as open a mind as possible, though I found the general concept of Ikiru partially insulting and partially ignorant… despite very real performances and a great scene in a restaurant when Takashi realizes what he must do.