‘Ikiru’ literally means ‘to live’. This may seem a bit of a blunt way of titling a movie, but in this case it is very much appropriate. Like the movie, the title does not lie and does not contain any false sentiment. ‘To live’ is precisely what Kurosawa’s Ikiru is about; what does it mean to live, how can one live, and can one be redeemed before he dies? Ikiru is brilliance; a masterpiece, simply put. It probes and explores these themes expertly, creating a film with a ‘soul’, if you will, and at the same time is a technical masterpiece. I believe Ikiru is Akira Kurosawa’s finest accomplishment, which is saying a lot considering the director. It was not a visual samurai epic or an adaptation of a Shakespeare classic. It is a simple film, about life, but perhaps this is what makes it so startlingly effective.
Ikiru is about an old man, Watanabe, who has worked for the city government for over thirty years. During all this time he has accomplished nothing at all. He shows up at work every day, he is never late, and he never does any work which amounts to anything – a bureaucrat in the purest form. He does not realize however, that he has cancer…and less than six months to live. When he finds out it is a shock to him as he realizes he has wasted his life away. He has been like a ‘mummy’; he had been essentially dead the entire time. The realization of this is devastating to him, and he must process his entire ‘life’ he has lived. He doesn’t show up for work and spends his days and nights in the city, looking for something, some truth, something that will mean he hasn’t whittled his life away to nothing…
This is the central story and theme of Ikiru, and I felt it was amazingly explored. It really easily could have been sappy and overwrought with ‘character overcoming pain and obstacle to redeem himself in the end’. Interestingly enough, Kurosawa almost never even shows that Watanabe is in physical pain, nor does he force the audience to sympathize with him because of his cancer. Instead, we sympathize with Watanabe because of his wasted life, spent on meaningless work which never amounted to anything, and we do this willingly. The cancer is simply a trigger which forces Watanabe to open up his eyes and ask himself what it means to live, and it has the same effect on us. The best moments of the film are the long static shots of Watanabe trying to reconcile everything that is happening to him. We hear his inner thoughts through dialogue as he talks to strangers or distant acquaintances, and we begin to realize what it means ‘to live’ just as he does, and he finally comes to the conclusion that he can still do something – still make a difference.
By the second half of the film, there is a massive and sudden shift in narrative perspective – a very gutsy move by Kurosawa – but it works fabulously and we continue to gain insight into Watanabe’s thought process as he attempts to make something of what he has left of his life. Through a brilliantly edited sequence of flashbacks we learn what it was exactly he did to finally truly ‘live’, if only for a brief period of time. I really loved these thematic elements of Ikiru as they are so well implemented and honest, as well as easy to relate to. There is no false sentiment or manipulation at all. It is simply the story of a man who realizes his life was wasted and decides to make the best of what he has left, and in that alone it is a stunning and classic achievement in cinema.
The way Kurosawa put everything together almost seems to take a backseat in Ikiru. He wanted Watanabe and the story elements to be prevalent, but his genius director’s hand is ever present none the less. There are not too many epic shots like you would find in Seven Samurai, Kagemusha, or Ran. But the cinematography and shot composition is still brilliant none the less. What amazes me most is how truly subtle it is. After listening to a portion of the film’s commentary, I realized how truly incredible Kurosawa was when he constructed each shot. He meticulously placed characters and objects exactly where he wanted them, and played on them with precision, which in turn contributed to portraying what the characters were feeling and how the story progressed. The best example of this was when Watanabe first discovers he has cancer, but I also adored other sequences such as the one where Watanabe speaks to the failed author about his troubles. The editing is also brilliant, the best examples being the initial montage - an example of how bureaucracy accomplishes nothing - as well as the second half of the film, which is a series of expertly crafted flash back sequences. My only complaint was the way Watanabe’s first night on the city was handled, which felt to me like it was too sudden and ‘jumpy’
Overall Ikiru is a masterpiece because of the combined successes of both the narrative as well as cinematography and editing. Watanabe and his search for meaning in life is presented in such a way that it is not forced upon us - we willingly join in his search right beside him. I think when people watch this they can connect with Watanabe while at the same time draw parallels with their own lives. I think in the end Ikiru is both a very sad and a very hopeful film. It is sad that Watanabe wasted almost his entire life away, but hopeful in that he was able to find redemption in the end, which is immortalized by his final shot in the film. However, Ikiru is also a warning, and the final shot says so much despite the silence…I’m really not sure a simple review can convey the transcendent meaning Ikiru processes. I'm really not even happy with this review, as I'm not sure it even effectively conveys they brilliance and meaning of Ikiru. This is a case really of going and watching the film for yourself, and I defiantly would recommend it and even impose upon you to go see it as it is one of those few films which truly has potential to move and effect you.
No comments:
Post a Comment