Ikiru
I crave emotional movies and as I thought of exploring different directors and Akira Kurosawa's filmography was a canon event I would have to go for one day. But instead going for his magnum opus like "The Seven Samurai" and "Ran" (Which one day I will go for), I went for something that felt more grounded and human for a starter, exactly my way of going for a second attempt at David Lynch's filmography. So yea. I think it couldn't have turned any better. Because, **WOW.
**
Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa at a first glance at the plot felt like its just gonna be a typical movie about a hopeless terminally ill man finding his purpose at the end of his life. But, there were so many themes at play here that certainly took me for a surprise and I loved it dearly. Kurosawa could have made it simple and an emotional bait but he refrains and cuts the melodrama and keeps the drama grounded and deep and that just enhances the whole movie for better.
The shots are beautiful and Kurosawa utlizes his BnW shots with such perfection and flair, he is truly a master of the craft. The two shots involving the lead singing and the stay at his face is permanently printed in my brain.
Takeshi Shimura as the terminally ill bureaucrat, Kanji Watanabe gives a tour de force performance that keeps you hooked and makes you admire him throughout the runtime. His eyes, expressive and immersive and the way his demeanor and voice reflects the silent sadness that looms inside him for a life wasted due to the hollowness of his monotone life. The way he gravitates towards people brimming with life and joy to find his own calling, Just pure and heartfelt performance.
As every Japanese movie is just subverting my expectations, I again get baited for thinking this as a simple emotional bait movie but what the synopsis reveals is just the surface and there is so much to soak in and in my opinion, it is just something that will age like a fine wine.