my total hero (possibly # 1, 2, or 3) - he's up there,.

(Akira Kurosawa looking like the master he was)

but taking some time right now, & more soon, to re-visit certain films of the past. trying to focus on social issues/commentary & the like, i.e., Stray Dog, Drunken Angel & last night sat down to breathe in Ikiru. (which translates: To Live). failing to get all literary on you & write proper review/criticism (since I finished college already) but this is a beautiful film to check out especially if you are like me & get all hot, fiery, frustrated (sometimes) around this time of year. ya know, consumerism & such: buy this, but that, punch a total stranger in the face, "I'll cuss you out man, that was my rotating barbie", I'm just trying to avoid crowds right now to keep my sanity, any-old, I digress,...


("Busy, so busy - but in fact, this man does nothing at all. Is this what life is all about?")

Ikiru is the tale of an ageing bureaucrat/standard run-of-the-mill government employee who learns that he has stomach cancer & has a mere few months to live. the news triggers a sense of urgency in our protagonist, Ken Watanabe, who immediately begins a search for purpose in his life. the search pays well as Wantanabe spends his last days fighting a resistant government bureaucracy in order to complete a park project in a nearby slum. the beauty in the film comes through in the compassion & dedication Wantanabe exhibits in trying to fulfill his purpose. he's found himself in a position where he's making up for 30 years of doing nothing in his life, in his final 6 months.


("I realize what they say about the nobility of misfortune is true, because misfortune teaches us the truth.")

at times, the movie feels slow, but I think that's the purpose. would time slow down, or speed up for you if you knew you had 6 months to live, & have thus far completed nothing substantial in your life? I can only imagine that I would spend the first 3 months asking myself questions. essentially what we have here with this film is the first masterpiece of many to come from a master director, & the film feels just like that. enjoy, or don't.