Ryan McNeil
When I revealed what titles I’d be tackling for my second round of Blind Spot entries, my friend Helen suggested that IKIRU would make for a great starting point. Specifically, she said “If you’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution then you should start with IKIRU”.
She’s not wrong, but starting off with such a bummer of a film is damned near lighting the fuse on seasonal depression. So thanks Helen, but if it’s not too much trouble, could you make the nine-hour-drive north and come give me a hug now?
IKIRU is the tale of Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura). Before we meet him, we are shown an x-ray of his stomach and told that he has terminal cancer. The cancer will kill him in less than one year. While he obviously finds the news upsetting, he tells nobody about what is going on. Not his son, not his daughter-in-law, not his co-workers. He decides to start making what time he has left count that much more, and starts languishing his hard-earned and well-saved money on various forms of frivolities. When he eventually opens up to a former subordinate, he is inspired to put time, money and effort towards something lasting…something for others.
The film then jumps forward to Watanabe’s wake. It’s here that we learn that he spent his final weeks and months getting a playground built for his community. As his colleagues and family recount his hard-fought efforts, they muse about how out-of-character his final months were, and wonder aloud whether he knew he was going to die.
Something you might not know about me is that I’m fascinated with death. For reasons I cannot explain, I’ve thought about mortality and legacy since I was a young teenager. Back when I studied art it inspired more than a few paintings and drawing, and since then it has been the subject of many a word I’ve jotted down on paper. Part of that fascination was the typical question of what one would do if they knew they only had a finite amount of time left on this earth.
Seeing Watanabe try to up and start living is what I believe many people’s natural response would be. I imagine most of us would do what Watanabe does first: Tap into whatever “rainy day” funds we might have and start spending it the way we’ve always wanted to spend it. Watanabe thinks small: he buys a few items, experiences some night life, indulges in wine, women, and song. However, Watanabe quickly learns is what we all might be well-served to remember.
When staring down the end of our existence, we will find little comfort in frivolities.
What’s the next step? As Watanabe exemplifies, it comes from sharing the wealth with others. We all want to believe we made an impression on people, right? Well what better way than by giving unto them without cost or condition right before we go? This is the sort of thing Watanabe tries when he buys Toyo new stockings. But even this languishing of one’s possession might not bring peace…after all, how does one know if one is rewarding those who will fully appreciate it? There remains the possibility that these actions might be as forgotten as the drinks and dances the money was spent on before.
No, what Watanabe eventually learns is how high we all have set the bar for ourselves:
To achieve the most with whatever finite time we are given, we need to completely give of ourselves…not only our treasure, but also our time and our talent…and we need to do so in a way that benefits the wider community around us.
So as if all of that wasn’t engrossing to my morbid fascination, I was then treated to the third act where Watanabe is mourned and puzzled over. This sequence captures that moment so many of us are curious about: the events and discussions that take place at or own funeral.
The discussions amongst those gathered for Watanabe speak volumes about how dedicated he was to his goal. Here was a man disinterested in fanfare. Had he said “I’m dying, and this is what I want before I go”, he likely would have walked a road smoothed by everyone in front of him. Instead, Watanabe wanted to earn his legacy. He wanted not only to put forward the vision of something, but also to fight for it and make sure it was done right. Many of those gathered to mourn him cannot understand why he fought such an uphill battle, but to me the answer is clear. Watanabe knew how he would be regarded if he was successful, and he wanted to earn that pedestal. It wouldn’t be about immediate reward or acclimation for him – it would be about true, lasting, inspiring legacy.
Interestingly, this was what made me realize how much my friend Helen had short-sold the story of IKIRU. This wasn’t a tale of the self-satisfaction that comes with carrying through on resolutions. No, this Kurosawa film is about making a life count. It’s a sad, scary thought that we will leave this world having made little impact on it. That thought is painted all over Shimura’s face through this subtle and affecting performance. He embodies the sort of everyman we write off as unspectacular. The sort who do their work dutifully, if unremarkably. These people – and most of us are “these people” – will not leave a legacy of great philanthropy and humanitarian work. Our mark will be but a dimple on this big blue marble.
Like I said – sad and scary. If you think about it for more than five minutes, I imagine your expression would look a lot like Shimura’s in that photo up top.
AsI wait for someone to give me a hug, I’m amused by the way IKIRU could have served as both a great opener and finale to this second lap of Blind Spots. It does indeed teach a lesson to push forward without delay – underlining that we are best served when we act on our ideas, rather than looking back on what might have been. It also has such a reflective tone to it, that it could have made for a great conclusion. After all, what better way to look back on finally experiencing all of these wonderful stories than with a film that celebrates life achievements.
In taking up this little mission of mine, I’m trying not just to check off boxes, but also to cull the boxes I think will give me the broadest appreciation of the art form and for life in general.
It’s hard to imagine a film that will do that better than IKIRU
I intend to post my entries on the final Tuesday of every month. If you are participating, drop me an email (ryanatthematineedotca) when your post is up and I’ll make sure to link to your entry.
Here’s the round-up for January…
Danielle watched REALITY BITES
Will watched ACE IN THE HOLE
Andy watched E.T. THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL
Allison watched BLUE VELVET
Jake watched THE LONG DAY CLOSES and TRASH
SDG watched SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARVES
Steven watched CITIZEN KANE
Buckle watched SUNRISE
Andrew watched SCHINDLER’S LIST
Dan watched CODE UNKNOWN
Sean watched PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
Courtney watched SUSPIRIA
Sam watched 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Bob (eventually) watched THE RECKLESS MOMENT and THIS GUN FOR HIRE
Wonderful post, Ryan. I saw Ikiru six years ago and liked it a lot, but I think it would make an even bigger impact today. There’s a big difference between watching it at 31 and 37, and I’m guessing that would be even greater in the future. It’s one of those deceptive movies that sneaks up on you and really packs an emotional wallop in the end. Nice work.
I can only surmise that it’s the sort of film that carries more and more weight the older we get. Do revisit it soon!
Lovely review. This film can be quite depressing indeed. A lot that is due to Shimura’s performance. There were times when I couldn’t bear to even look at this face. So heartwrenching.
Funny thing – as affecting as this film was, and even though I made jokes about needing a hug, I never found it depressing. Some things saddened me, some things filled me with melancholy…but all of it in a curious life-affirming way.
Does that make any sense?
I love this movie as a scathing critique of bureaucracy. At heart, Kurosawa is angry and rebellious, but never without a wink and always artfully done.
I’m glad you saw this movie, Ryan. It’s a personal favorite, albeit one I haven’t seen in a very long time.
On the critique of bureaucracy point, a post I did last year: http://commentarytrack.com/2012/05/14/photo-play-ikiru-1952/
Now I’m kicking myself that I never got into the bureaucratic comment (especially since a week or so after this, I rewatched BRAZIL). Looks like helen has us covered though.
Thanks for reading John – feel like joining the series for 2013?
Hmm… maybe? To clarify, it’s 12 movies? Do I have to put it open to readers, or…?
Any twelve you think you “shoulda seen by now”. Readership curation is not required!
As dumb as it sounds, I’ve got my New Year’s Resolutions, which amounts to 100+ of these. Does that count? Or should I add 12 more?
I love the idea behind it. It’s what movie-watching is at its best.
That counts! Just designate twelve of your hundred to write about at the end of every month. The next entry goes up on 2/26. Email me a link.
This is definitely one of my favorite Kurosawa films. I’m glad you got to see this. I have a Kurosawa film in my blind spot list. I’m not sure when I will see it but I do have the film on my DVR hard drive.
Which Kurosawa film is on your Blind Spot list?
Well you’re definitely dug yourself in a deep hole there Mr. McNeil. While I agree that Ikiru is a masterpiece (next to only Rashomon and High & Low for me in Kurosawa rankings) as it stands up in comparison to the rest of cinema (as you put it) doesn’t seem many can match it.
The question I left the film asking is what I’ve done (or plan to do) to make a mark on this world to make my life matter. I responded by watching more Kurosawa… probably a bad solution I believe.
Dug a deep hole, as in I have started this year’s series with one of the very best?
I too had one of those “What have I done with my life?” moments as this film played out. I think the trick is to always try to be thinking that way…to always try to be leaving a mark on the world and not be content to stay nestled at our own meagre desks and in our own warm houses.
I still have a lot of Kurosawa to see (I think this is only my seventh). One day, perhaps I should give him a posting series all his own!
I agree with the commentators noting how the film grows on you. On first viewing, I found the shift to flashback mode very jarring, but increasingly this more indirect mode of storytelling grows on me. Each time I see Ikiru I like it more.
I think a lot of kids share that fascination with death, oddly enough (since, with any luck, they’re further away from it than anyone else). I know I did – not sure what religious tradition you were brough up in (if any) but I think in my case Catholicism and the whole martyr complex had something to do with it.
Incidentally, your paragraph on that subject makes me think you might enjoy my recently completed short film, which arose out of a similar curiosity about that subject. Won’t post the link, but it is easy enough to find if you are interested.
Also, I’d like to participate in this series but as I watched like 2 movies in January it may not feasible! We’ll see what February brings.
I was raised Catholic too, and I’m not sure how much that had to do with it. I have a hunch that more of it came from my education at an arts high school, and what I was expressing through my drawings and paintings.
Some of the music I was listening to couldn’t have helped either.
I do hope you’ll join in on the action. Draw yourself up a list of eleven to tackle the rest of the year, and then maybe drop in a twelfth if there’s an opportune window to do so.
I’m glad you took my recommendation- I think. A virtual hug will have to suffice.
New Year’s resolutions are the most familiar expression of a universal impulse to do better, to be more, to find meaning. The “three months to live” scenario sees that impulse crystallized by the sudden sharp recognition of mortality. The typical resolution is trivial, self-centered and quickly abandoned; exemplified by the January spike and February drop-off in gym memberships. In Watanabe’s object and resolve to achieve it, IKIRU is both chastising and inspirational.
A subtle theme I find very powerful is how we estimate worth. We’d all like to think we’re standing with Watanabe’s young colleague on the bridge at the end, but are we really stuck at the wake, sharing in the others’ myopic vision of what matters. Getting the playground built isn’t a grand achievement in worldly terms. Its significance is in the value the neighborhood mothers and children give it. Watanabe’s own lost domestic happiness is a poignant connection to what he has built for others, epitomized by the famous scene on the park swing.
I never feel dispirited by IKIRU. At the risk of sounding hackneyed it’s too full of life.
I spent a moment or two wondering about your point when the movie began, and then it immediately clicked. I don’t know if I’ve said so or not, but this also could have made a great film to end the series on in December, since it echoes what we want to say before the book closes.
That’s a great point about worth. I can actually remember a moment a year or so ago talking with some complete strangers in a line at TIFF. I mentioned that the director of the film we were all about to see was a college classmate of mine. They asked if I was proud, and I said “Yeah, proud and a bit sad that I haven’t done anything like this”. The gentleman in the the couple was quick to point out my website (I’d already told them about it) and how it couldn’t be an easy thing to maintain and keep running. He said that I probably *was* leaving a mark like my classmate was leaving, even if it wasn’t the mark I wanted to leave.
I wish I hadn’t lost track of that gentleman.
I’ve actually really wanted to thank him several times over.