“Ikiru” (or “To Live” as it sometimes known) is a powerful, moving and thought-provoking little film from the masterful Akira Kurosawa (“Ran”). It actually reminded me a lot of “Citizen Kane” in the way that some of the story is presented and this film is worthy of the comparison to “Citizen Kane”.

An aging bureaucrat (Takashi Shimura “Godzilla”) discovers that his life is coming to an end when he is diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. Unhappy with how he has squandered the last few decades of his existence, he searches for meaning in the short amount of time he has left in this world.

Takashi Shimura has appeared in many Kurosawa films including the excellent “Seven Samurai”. Shimura perfectly plays Kanji Watanabe, the miserable office worker in search of something. It’s interesting because we also get to see what other characters thought of him after his passing, which is what reminded me so much of “Citizen Kane”. Some of the other characters include other bureaucrats and the film creates a very damning portrayal of bureaucracy. It achieves this early on with a scene showing citizens being directed from one department to another. However, it solidifies it with its depiction of a slimy politician that is eager to cover up the work of Watanabe, fearing that it may make him look bad to the electorate.

Some of the moments in “Ikiru”, especially near the beginning of the film, are filmed with such skill that you simply have to admire them. This could have been a melodramatic piece but Kurosawa and Shimura have created an intelligent film that actually achieves a lot with very little. If you have not had the chance to see it, I strongly recommend you watch “Ikiru”. It also makes a nice change of pace from the samurai films Kurosawa is known for.