Ikiru
Life is brief, it’s a gift we are forced to accept, but living is not a requirement to be alive. You have to choose to live. Ikiru is a movie about choosing to live, hence the title. The plot is simple yet effective, a man learns how to live after 30 years of being a mummy. The acting in this movie is impeccable, with Takashi Shimura delivering one of the most heartfelt performances I’ve seen in a while. His performance isn’t the only wonderful thing about this movie, because everything else is absolutely amazing. The cinematography is stunning throughout, but the swing scene in particular was breathtaking. The music is well done and helps emphasize the emotional aspects wonderfully, my only real gripe with sound being the fact that nobody has restored the microphones on the version I watched (if it was, holy crap how bad was the original???), but that’s no fault of the film itself. The set design is wonderful and feels so utterly real. And my god, the writing! It’s full of wonderful lines that stick with you throughout the film, but I think the ones that pertain to me the most were: “it’s our human duty to enjoy life” and “I can't afford to hate anyone. I don't have that kind of time.” But the film is chock full of amazing lines, particularly near the end of the film. This has to be one of the most hopeful films I’ve seen in a while, because you never know when your time is up. But that should never stop you from treating every day like the gift it is.
5/5: I should call the sanitation department to help clean up the tears I shed watching this movie, but they’d probably just send me over to the department of social services.