Ikiru

A few years ago I had the privilege of watching this most AMAZING movie. I thought I had written a blog about it but I failed to find one. I showed it to Chris and he still finds this as one of the most profound movies he has ever seen.

Anyone who knows me knows that I cite Akira Kurosawa as one of my favorite directors along with the likes of Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra.

I could never name a favorite of all time, not even with a gun to my head. Can't do it. They are all great for different reasons. Kurosawa's reason is that he really had a grasp on what it meant to be alive and explored that. From his masterpiece Seven Samurai to Ikiru. In my very humble opinion these should be always mentioned in the same sentence as his masterpieces.

Ikiru is simply about a man who has lived his entire life as a mid level bureaucrat. He learns that his has stomach cancer and has little time left. What results is one of the best performances ever committed to film in Takashi Shimura's Kanji Watanabe. When he is suddenly confronted with his mortality he sees how unfulfilled his life has been. How he has never accomplished anything but shuffling papers.

He starts to search for what it means to live. He tries several traditional routes to find this fulfillment and fails. I can't say more without spoiling this beautiful story.

The way Kurosawa tells this story is very unique. It is told in two parts, one dealing with his search for meaning in his life and the other at his wake told in flashback form. This is a very atmospheric movie and every frame makes you want to search for the meaning in your own life. It makes you crave it. It makes you desire to find and define what meaning is to you. It isn't a happy film, it is quite melancholic, but it isn't a sad film either. It is inspirational. The final scene would move the most cold hearted person to tears as it is one of the most poignant statements ever committed to film. It is beyond my simple words to describe it.

Now why would I write about this movie that I have seen a couple of years ago today? Because it has been brought to my attention that there might be a remake of this magnificent film. Again you all know my policy on remakes. I refuse to even see one if I can help it. Not at the theater, not on DVD, not even on cable on TNT or whenever it will be aired. I refuse.

There are some things that should be considered cinematic blasphemy and remaking this gentle masterpiece is that. Even if it is done well, even if it has every single moment of tenderness and passion, even if it is done with great care, it cannot match the original. It can't be done, NO, it should not be done.

You can't remake Casablanca, Vertigo, or Citizen Kane. Ikiru has nothing to prove to any of these movies even though it is not known outside of the realm of film geeks. Hopefully it won't be remade but if it is then the best anyone can hope for is that it drives people to see the Kurosawa original.