This movie is constantly blowing my mind with how much there is to think about. If the fact that I’ve watched this 7 times throughout the year isn’t evidence enough of how rewatchable this movie is, I don’t know what is. What blew my mind the most during this viewing was the final short about the village. It’s mostly a conversation between the traveler and the old man about humanity’s relationship with nature, and the joy it is to be alive. This conversation comes to a close when a funeral procession gets closer to the two characters, and the old man joins. As he ends the conversation, the old man explains that death, as much as life, is something we can celebrate. Given it isn’t an unfortunate death (like a child dying), someone growing to be old age and passing onto from this life into the next is something we should celebrate. You lived a long and fruitful life to make it to old age. It isn’t something to be afraid of or a reason for others to mourn. You are then shown the funeral procession. It is people of all ages from the village singing a celebratory chant for the 99 year old woman’s body they are carrying. This 99 year old was the old man’s first love. She left him and married someone else. After sharing this information, the old man laughs. It’s almost like he doesn’t have regrets over this. He’s able to laugh at the situation now. But back to the procession. Everyone is wearing bright colors and smiling. There are no tears. It’s truly a celebration of this woman’s life.
What really gets me thinking though, is how old Kurosawa was when he made this movie. Obviously he didn’t know when he was going to die, and he wasn’t actively dying at this point in his career, but he had to know as an 80 year old that the majority of his life was behind him at this point. To make a short film celebrating life, and proclaiming so boldly how unafraid you are of death as an 80 year old, shows such a degree of peace that it left me speechless.
It makes me think about what the end of my life will be. Will I be able to look back at my life and feel peace? Will I be able to go to die knowing that I lived a good and fruitful life? Will I be scared thinking about all the ways I’ve disappointed God and my family? Will I regret so many different missed opportunities?
No other film so consistently moves me and challenged me to think this introspectively about my life. I love it.
This movie is constantly blowing my mind with how much there is to think about. If the fact that I’ve watched this 7 times throughout the year isn’t evidence enough of how rewatchable this movie is, I don’t know what is. What blew my mind the most during this viewing was the final short about the village. It’s mostly a conversation between the traveler and the old man about humanity’s relationship with nature, and the joy it is to be alive. This conversation comes to a close when a funeral procession gets closer to the two characters, and the old man joins. As he ends the conversation, the old man explains that death, as much as life, is something we can celebrate. Given it isn’t an unfortunate death (like a child dying), someone growing to be old age and passing onto from this life into the next is something we should celebrate. You lived a long and fruitful life to make it to old age. It isn’t something to be afraid of or a reason for others to mourn. You are then shown the funeral procession. It is people of all ages from the village singing a celebratory chant for the 99 year old woman’s body they are carrying. This 99 year old was the old man’s first love. She left him and married someone else. After sharing this information, the old man laughs. It’s almost like he doesn’t have regrets over this. He’s able to laugh at the situation now. But back to the procession. Everyone is wearing bright colors and smiling. There are no tears. It’s truly a celebration of this woman’s life.
What really gets me thinking though, is how old Kurosawa was when he made this movie. Obviously he didn’t know when he was going to die, and he wasn’t actively dying at this point in his career, but he had to know as an 80 year old that the majority of his life was behind him at this point. To make a short film celebrating life, and proclaiming so boldly how unafraid you are of death as an 80 year old, shows such a degree of peace that it left me speechless.
It makes me think about what the end of my life will be. Will I be able to look back at my life and feel peace? Will I be able to go to die knowing that I lived a good and fruitful life? Will I be scared thinking about all the ways I’ve disappointed God and my family? Will I regret so many different missed opportunities?
No other film so consistently moves me and challenged me to think this introspectively about my life. I love it.
