An examined life worth living

Having seen other Akira Kurosawa films, I figured that "Ikiru" would be basically similar; like "The Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon", I expected Kuroswa's deft mix of cinematic technique, complex and engaging storyline, and impeccable acting. What I did not expect was how moved I would be by the film and especially the haunting performance of Takeshi Shimura.Shimura's character can easily enter the annals with any of those penned by Sartre, Camus, or Dostoevsky. However, it is Shimura's face that makes his performance striking and unforgettable. A glance into his sad, overburdened visage reveals volumes about the human condition; fear, sorrow, and hope appear simultaneously and piercingly, something that I believe has never been matched in cinema. Never have I felt so drawn to a character, able to feel his suffering and determination, and his final sense of completion.Shimura's character, a low-level bureaucrat in post-WWII Japan, begins his emotional oddesy when he learns that he has stomach cancer. His knowledge of his impending doom cause him to examine his life and try to make sense of his seemingly meaningless existence. Although the details of the self-examination and the bifurcated plot structure used by Kurosawa are brilliant, it is the way Shimura is able to express his feelings at every point that take the film from extraordinary to sublime.Other Kurosawa films are able to capture emotions brilliantly and vividly; the final confrontation scene in "High and Low" is one of my personal favorites. But Shimura's ability to sustain the most jagged and heart-wrenching emotions throughout "Ikiru" make it a cinematic masterpiece, an existentialist tour de force, and my personal favorite film.