Ikiru essays on the existential part of an ordinary man in his search for his real PURPOSE. In his desperate quest for it, he had a very unbearable trial that he must hurdle. – his battle against stomach cancer. Meanwhile, the main character in the story had to quit his job in order for him to find his true purpose in the remaining years of his existence.
The lowly bureaucrat in the movie was a lonely man. His wife had died, his son was estranged from his care and his co – workers were little more than strangers to him. In order to cope up with his terrible fate and loneliness, he went barhopping for the first time, spending all the money in his wallet until he dropped. Along the way, he came across with a black appareled artist, who had let him into the dark and humorous journey in the city. Will this drastically change his views about the real essence of living? Find out more when you watch the film.
This movie really moved me to tears because I myself, until now keeps on searching of my life’s purpose. It was wonderful to know that a man like the main character in the movie left his job for thirty years, just to find the deeper meaning of his life.
Kurosawa had effectively instilled the values that the viewers need to learn while watching this heartwarming melodrama. Moreover, he tremendously filled his masterpiece with cinematic and incredible long shots of the tired eyes and the lingering views of the cancer stricken protagonist in the film. However, Ikiru in some other aspects was a “mixed bag”. There was one major reason why I had said this. It was a rare winner in the field of character study. However, Kurosawa’s methodology can be described as roundabout. Because there were times that the well- known director was inexplicable. Therefore, the storyline became a fit and start thing, which was a familiar attribute of the “Neorealists”. This belief is lurching most notably from the present and into the future. In addition, this film could have been much better if too many flashbacks were not included. It only weakened the film as a whole. However, it was a well- made flick because it had unmask our real human nature of weakness and despair.
Overall, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
