Ikiru (1952)

This study of a terminally ill civil servant seeking meaning in his life is one of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s finest achievements.

In the West, director Akira Kurosawa is so often associated with his samurai films and his regular lead Toshiro Mifune that other aspects of his filmography are sometimes overlooked. That’s a major injustice in the case of this deeply compassionate modern-dress character study, which is reportedly director Steven Spielberg’s favourite film.

Takashi Shimura is utterly convincing as the reserved local government functionary who’s stayed in the same job for decades by keeping his head down, yet when stomach cancer strikes he resolves to bring some meaning to an otherwise fruitless life. Scrupulously avoiding slushy sentiment, the film’s narrative structure then cleverly moves the focus to the old man’s perplexed colleagues, pertinently prompting every viewer to ponder their own contribution to the common good.

1952 Japan
Directed by
Akira Kurosawa
Produced by
Sojiro Motoki
Written by
Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, Akira Kurosawa
Featuring
Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoko Seki
Running time
130 minutes

Ranked in The Greatest Films of All Time poll

Sight and Sound

Who voted for Ikiru

Critics

Robert Cashill
USA
Thomas C. Christensen
Denmark
Nick De Semlyen
UK
David Ehrlich
USA
Euan Franklin
UK
Alfonso Garcia Calvo
Spain
Steph Green
UK
Erika Gregor
Germany
Philip Kemp
UK
Leila Latif
UK/Sudan
Gonzalo Maza
Chile/UK
Naman Ramachandran
UK/India
Jonathan Ross
UK
Rafa Sales Ross
Brazil
Yael Shuv
Israel
Srđan Vučinić
Serbia
Tom White
USA
Adam Woodward
UK

Directors

Colm Bairéad
Ireland
Alex Cox
US
Julie Dash
Saul Dibb
UK
Karyn Kusama
USA
Jennie Livingston
USA
Volker Schlöndorff
Germany
Martin Scorsese
Kazuhiro Soda
Japan
Claudia Weill
USA

Articles related to Ikiru

The Greatest Films of All Time

Directors’ 100 Greatest Films of All Time

Directors’ 100 Greatest Films of All Time
10 great

10 great films about old age

By Alex Ramon

10 great films about old age
The Greatest Films of All Time

The Greatest Films of All Time… in 1962

The Greatest Films of All Time… in 1962
Load more

Subscribe to BFI Player to access more films like this

Start with a 14-day free trial then only £4.99 a month - cancel any time.

Explore subscription on BFI Player