Ikiru

Name: Ikiru
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Genre: Drama
Released: 1952-10-09
Rating: 8.1

October 9, 1952· 2h 23m

Drama

Directed by

Akira Kurosawa

Cast

Takashi Shimura Haruo Tanaka Nobuo Kaneko Bokuzen Hidari Miki Odagiri Shinichi Himori +56 more ↓

Cinemagraphs Score8.1

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Audience Sentiment

Overall8.1

1 — Hated it5 — Neutral10 — Masterpiece

Critics

8+ Great

6-8 Good

<6 Poor

3 reviews·Last updated 13d ago

Peak Moment

Final swing in the snow

9.3at 2h 12m

Lowest Moment

Extended bar scenes

6.5at 44m

Biggest Swing

From the overlong nightclub sequences to the transcendent 'Gondola no Uta' singing scene, representing a 2.6 point jump

Critics praised Ikiru as a profound meditation on life and meaning, with particular acclaim for Takashi Shimura's performance and Kurosawa's atmospheric direction. While some found certain middle sequences overlong, the film's emotional peaks - especially the singing scenes - were universally celebrated as deeply moving cinema.

3 reviews analyzed|Sources: Tmdb