Ikiru

"Only death cures a fool" Having recently read the manga and light novel for "Three Days of Happiness" the theme of confronting death has been on my mind quite often. I found this particular story quite bittersweet as Watanabe finally decides to live the life he has been given and accomplish something he can be truly be proud of. However, I find it a shame that even when confronted by the idea of what Watanabe had faced no one else could manage to change with him despite acknowledging the faulty system they exist in. Although I like to sit and point at their apparent lack of conviction I myself can't be set apart from them as I find it very hard to change. I can't speak for everyone but I find myself believing I can make changes all the time only to quickly realize I haven't budged a bit. This film did such a beautiful way of capturing Watanabe's resurrection from a mummy to joyous old man that I believe someone can really make a difference if they put their heart into it more than ever now. I also would like to mention that in both "Ikiru" and "Three Days of Happiness" both main characters found meaning in their lives not because they wanted to change themselves but because they decided to leave a mark in someone else's lives. I keep being left absolutely astonished by movies like this that are now pretty old but that tell such powerful stories that you can't help but be moved by them. Despite lack of modern day technology something visually can still be produced at such a high level you could go crazy thinking about what they would be able to do in todays time. This is my first Akira Kurusawa movie and I definitely understand the hype. I am pretty excited to see more of his movies. The bar has been set pretty high.