Ikiru

Life is brief... Memento morir and memento vivere are a good reference points for this film, because everyone knows they'll die someday, but do they remember they're alive? Ikiru is a story about a man who realises that he hadn't been living his life. The news of his terminal illness awoke him from a vegetative state and made him question what he'd been doing with his life and his work. What captivated me was when the protagonist left the hospital it was completely silent. Him, in his thoughts. Totally struck. Yet when he approached the street, everything went back to normal. The world didn't stop, when he did.... I don't think I'll ever forget the brilliant acting of Takashi Shimura. The portrayal of misery on his face was truly exceptional throughout the film. It's also a critique of the pervasive bureaucracy. People are constantly busy doing nothing. No one wants to actually do what needs to be done, yet everyone is ready to reap the rewards when the endeavor succeeds. Our protagonist does a change but after his inevitable death everything falls back into the same place, not breaking the cycle.