The beautiful Ikiru shows Akira Kurosawa at his most empathetic, emphasizing life through the lens of impending death. Takashi Shimura delivers a sublime performance as an aging civil servant with cancer who, in his final days, searches for meaning.
Kurosawa’s quiet, deeply human character study about loneliness in the face of death offers a gentle reflection on what it means to truly live. Ikiru is more than just a film title—it is also a Japanese word that can be translated as “to live” or “to lead one’s life.” The terminally ill bureaucrat in Ikiru asks himself how he can still give his life meaning and impact in the time he has left. 4K restoration by Toho.