The protagonist of Kurosawa’s Ikiru is a government official in Japan who does nothing but stamp papers to perpetuate the ineffective political bureaucratic machine that he is a part of. After he learns he has terminal stomach cancer, he goes through a period of desperate confusion and despair, until a sudden realization prompts the total transformation of his personality and personal sense of meaning. The emotional depth of the protagonist and the changes he goes through in order to reveal the true nature of life are what make the film a powerful and meaningful work of cinema.
The first few scenes show the inefficient workings of the bureaucratic office. We are shown a montage of a group of mothers who demand that a disease-ridden cesspool …show more content…
At first, she enjoys the mutual companionship, but over time grows weary of the old man as he continues to follow her around, even after she resigns from her post and finds a new job. Even if Watanabe has no intention of seducing the young coworker, this is how she interprets it, and she finally confronts him about it at their final meeting. When Toyo finally confronts Watanabe about their meetings, all of the previous images we have of her time with him fall away, and we are faced with the awkward reality that she’s spending much of her time with a creepy, lonely old man. As Watanabe silently stares at the ground in shame after being ridiculed, Toyo glances at the different ends of the restaurant. On one side, a group of friends are celebrating a birthday party, and on the other side, a young couple gaze at each other in the restaurant booth. She then returns to face what’s in front of her -- her aging, depressed companion. Finally, Watanabe blurts out that he will die soon, a fact he has been holding in. Rather than return to her normal happy self and have a change of heart after hearing his confession, Toyo only becomes increasingly creeped out. Sensing her panic, he desperately tries to explain why he is drawn to her: “I know. I nearly drowned in a pond once when I was a child. I felt exactly the same …show more content…
During the first part of the event, we do not sad tales about Watanabe or praises of his work, but rather the Deputy Mayor denouncing his accomplishments. We learn that Watanabe had taken it upon himself to dedicate his final months to defying the bureaucratic machine he had been so entrenched in by helping the group of mothers from the beginning of the film get a park built to replace the cesspool. The memorial continues, with Watanabe’s coworkers criticizing him and insisting he had little to do with the creation of the park. As the night progresses, they begin to change their minds as evidence starts to pile up in favor of Watanabe, and within a few hours, everyone is drunk and praising his courage. The memorial ends with everyone exclaiming that they too will defy the bureaucratic machine, follow in Watanabe’s example, and dedicate their lives to doing something worthwhile. But the next day when a townsperson comes to the Bureau to file a complaint, they are dismissed and told to go somewhere else, and no one says a word. Any sentimentality or hope that Kurosawa offers in the memorial scene is completely negated by the dim reality of mass complacency. Thus, we are left with a completely ambiguous and open-ended contemplation about the film’s
The first few scenes show the inefficient workings of the bureaucratic office. We are shown a montage of a group of mothers who demand that a disease-ridden cesspool …show more content…
At first, she enjoys the mutual companionship, but over time grows weary of the old man as he continues to follow her around, even after she resigns from her post and finds a new job. Even if Watanabe has no intention of seducing the young coworker, this is how she interprets it, and she finally confronts him about it at their final meeting. When Toyo finally confronts Watanabe about their meetings, all of the previous images we have of her time with him fall away, and we are faced with the awkward reality that she’s spending much of her time with a creepy, lonely old man. As Watanabe silently stares at the ground in shame after being ridiculed, Toyo glances at the different ends of the restaurant. On one side, a group of friends are celebrating a birthday party, and on the other side, a young couple gaze at each other in the restaurant booth. She then returns to face what’s in front of her -- her aging, depressed companion. Finally, Watanabe blurts out that he will die soon, a fact he has been holding in. Rather than return to her normal happy self and have a change of heart after hearing his confession, Toyo only becomes increasingly creeped out. Sensing her panic, he desperately tries to explain why he is drawn to her: “I know. I nearly drowned in a pond once when I was a child. I felt exactly the same …show more content…
During the first part of the event, we do not sad tales about Watanabe or praises of his work, but rather the Deputy Mayor denouncing his accomplishments. We learn that Watanabe had taken it upon himself to dedicate his final months to defying the bureaucratic machine he had been so entrenched in by helping the group of mothers from the beginning of the film get a park built to replace the cesspool. The memorial continues, with Watanabe’s coworkers criticizing him and insisting he had little to do with the creation of the park. As the night progresses, they begin to change their minds as evidence starts to pile up in favor of Watanabe, and within a few hours, everyone is drunk and praising his courage. The memorial ends with everyone exclaiming that they too will defy the bureaucratic machine, follow in Watanabe’s example, and dedicate their lives to doing something worthwhile. But the next day when a townsperson comes to the Bureau to file a complaint, they are dismissed and told to go somewhere else, and no one says a word. Any sentimentality or hope that Kurosawa offers in the memorial scene is completely negated by the dim reality of mass complacency. Thus, we are left with a completely ambiguous and open-ended contemplation about the film’s