Ikiru
This film is so spectacular I cannot believe I have never heard of it before today.
Takashi Shimura as Kanji Watanabe is an absolute delight to watch despite the melodramatic nature of the film.
This movie feels extraordinarily modern with its depiction of bureaucracy.
THE BUREAUCRATIC MACHINE DOESN’T CARE ABOUT YOU!
You could work for 30 years without a single day off and all they'll care about when you’re gone is who is going to replace you.
One of my biggest fears in life as I’m sure is many others; is the idea that you’ll get an incurable disease and die before you can really live. This simple yet powerful theme is used masterfully as a metaphor for how bureaucracy drains the life out of you. How it wrings you of every ounce of creativity and passion you once had.
Going into the third act I was worried they had killed our protagonist off too quick but after seeing how they used his wake as a framing device to express the impact he had made on the mindless drones of city hall was beautiful. All of them too afraid to stand up to the sly deputy mayor who is way too happy to steal the credit for Watanabe’s tenacity to make a real difference in his community.
My favourite part is when Watanabe goes out for a night on the town with the novelist, and in his drunken grief and sorrow he starts singing “Life is Brief.”
Takashi Shimura’s rendition of the song is devastatingly and hauntingly beautiful. I have not felt for a movie the way I have in that scene for a long time.
The way the movie comes full circle with all the public affairs employees swearing that they’ll make a change to honour Watanabe’s legacy; only to return to the useless busy work that only serves society’s obsession to control every little facet of every decision made.
It’s sickening how many people are left hopeless by their local government who care more about reelection than serving the community.
Every park built, every sunset enjoyed, every moment you spend living instead of perpetuating a cycle of misery and despair is a protest against your bureaucratic oppressors.