Ikiru

This is gonna be a real hard movie to top.

Throughout this little marathon I've been steadily getting through, each movie has been better than the last. Stray Dog was good and had some interest, Rashomon had a lot of intrigue and was fascinating to watch, but Ikiru made it from really good to outstanding! And not only is this going to be a hard movie to top, but Takashi Shimura's performamce is going to be hard to top. His acting in this movie is amazing even though he doesn't say that much, his eyes can speak volume and the subject matter is what I think counts for so much of the greatness of the film. The story follows an older man named Kanji who discovers he has stomach cancer and is given a short time to live. He realizes he has wasted 30 years of his life stuck behind a desk and tries to cope with his disease and trying to make the last few months of living worthwhile. It goes much deeper than that, and done so very well I can barely describe it. It's such a wonderful movie, that really has not only a life affirming message but also makes you appreciate the life you have. There's quite a few scenes that easily made me an emotional mess but also just absolutely floored. The scene where Kanji sings Life Is Brief just made me freeze in sheer heartbreaking wonder, it's a chilling scene yet so beautiful too. And I'm going to level with you seriously, I have seen many funerals in my life. Far too many. And I have never seen a more real, crushing, respectful, or loving funeral scene in any movie before. It's tough to watch, especially for me, but it is....Jesus. Guys. This is coming from a man who mostly detests life stories, I'm not one for personal drama of an individual captured on film, it's odd saying but I'm not one for movies about life. That is the most bizarre thing I've ever said, and YET I love this movie, I would watch this movie time and time again. It's a excellent film that should be seen by all at some point in your life. It says so much despite it being a simple and yet very sad story that hits home a little too close for most people. I actually thought the name of the main character was Ikiru but on discovering it was Kanji I typed it into a translator, and the meaning of the word Ikiru is, to live. And that is what one should do, the only thing you can do is to make the time you have on this world worthwhile and mean something to the other people in your life. Take that away from this if nothing else dear ones.