Ikiru (1952)

One of Akira Kurosawa's more obscure works. IMPORTANT NOTE: This film is in Japanese with English subtitles only. There is no English dub, so if you don't like reading subtitles, do not watch this film The Story This film is about a business man's last days after he is diagnosed with a fatal stomach cancer. The story isn't as action packed or as complicated as Kurosawa's other works. But the film focuses more on the characters, instead of the illness, which many 'final days' films fail to do. They focus too much on the illness then us getting to know and feel sorry for the characters. The film is more of a character based story, with the film just letting the characters just be themselves without anything complicated going on. The Characters The characters are all memorable and likeable. Not because they are perfect characters, but because they have their own querks and flaws that make them more relatable and believe, thus, making them more likeable. The Special Effects This film doesn't really have any special effects that were new at the time, but the camera angles in this film are really well done, especially the scene when the main character sings a song at a restaurant and the camera focuses only on his face while he sings and starts to cry. That is one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen in a film. Just seeing a man sing his favourite song and trying to hold back his tears is so emotional that I doubt any film could make a scene similar to this any sadder or more perfect then this film. Final Thoughts Overall, this might not be as famous as Seven Samurai, but it is definitely worth a watch! This film has not had a single review on FILM CLUB and I don't know why. It is a recommended film by them, yet no one has reviewed it? Anyway, if you ever see this movie at your local library, DVD store or on TV, give it a watch, it is definitely worth your time! The Story 5/5 The Characters 5/5 The Special Effects 4/5 Overall 4.5/5