Japanese Movie Nigh

We will try again. Buy your ticket asap before it is sold out. Seats are not numbered. We will socialize after the move.

One of Akira Kurosawa's finest films.

Many consider *Ikiru* one of Akira Kurosawa’s greatest films, alongside *Seven Samurai*. Unlike the exotic and explosive *jidai-geki* (period films), his *gendai-geki* (contemporary films) are far more understated and contemplative. Yet, even though there is less outward action in a film like *Ikiru*, one has no trouble recognizing Kurosawa as one of the definitive masters of epic cinema.

As in his samurai films, he is concerned here with individual heroism; with a death sentence hanging over him, thoughts, dreams, and intentions become pale and irrelevant. Watanabe realizes that it is only through action that he can feel truly alive.

*Ikiru* simply means "to live." Kurosawa once said: "Sometimes I think about dying. It makes me restless. Just imagine taking my last breath after living a life like this. There is so much left for me to accomplish while I am still alive. I feel I have lived far too little. This feeling makes my heart ache. In the film *Ikiru*, I have tried to portray that feeling."