Ikiru (Madman Director's Suite) - The Memorable TV DVD Review

Distributor: Madman Entertainment (Director's Suite)
Region 4 | PAL | PG | 137 minutes
Available to buy
Release Date: 17 May 2006
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Reviewer: Alan R
Extras: Yes

ANYONE IN IT WE KNOW?

Takashi Shimura as Watanabe

WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEN?

Kanji Watanbe is section chief of the city council's Public Affairs office and has worked in the department for 30 years never missing a day. His department is always very busy but never seem to do anything useful - their prime activity appears to be passing on matters to be dealt with by other departments and they field many angry delegations from members of the public demanding things like sanitation be sorted out. But the bureaucratic machine of which he is part is uncaring and nothing ever gets actioned but is just put to one side to be dealt with later.

Lately Watanbe has started to feel ill and everyone at his office is astonished when one day he isn't there. He has visited a doctor and discovered he has stomach cancer and only has about 6 months to live. This floors him and he becomes a pained soul who starts thinking about his life and how he hasn't actually achieved anything. He has worked hard all his life to bring up his son after his wife died 20 years beforehand but finds now that his son does not appreciate him and is more interested in the nest-egg he will inherit one day. Watanbe does not tell anyone of his condition. He withdraws sizable quantities of his carefully squirreled savings with a view to living it up for a few days but realises he has no idea how to enjoy himself.

He meets up with a young woman who is an employee of his who has a bright sunny outlook on life and he clings to her playful effervescence for a few days showering her with gifts until she begins to get tired of his infatuation. He tells her of his condition and she suggests he tries to achieve something that will make a lasting difference that he will be remembered for. So he takes up her advice and goes back to work and starts pushing for action on various stalled projects and in particular the filling in of a cesspool and turning it into a recreation area for children with playground attractions.