Popular reviews

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  Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★★ 8

  "I can't afford to hate people. I haven't got that kind of time."

  While I was watching this, I kept forgetting that it was made in '52. Ikiru is an amazing movie, and probably my new favorite of its respective decade. The social commentary, especially in the third act, is spot on... possibly even more relevant today. The black and white photography is simply beautiful, and Takashi Shimura's lead performance as Watanabe is something to marvel over. Rarely have I seen such genuine sadness on an actor's face; it's something that I'll never forget. Essential viewing for all human beings on Planet Earth.

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  Review by YI JIAN ★★★★½ 21

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

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  Review by Chris ★★★★★ 12

  Not the funniest, but definitely the most emotionally affecting episode of Parks and Recreation I've ever seen.

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  Review by Jaime Rebanal 🇵🇸 ★★★★★ 36

  (NOTE 12/02/2019): This is not exactly my best writing - as I was only starting to develop my skills as a teenager with writing single paragraph-long reviews, but eventually I plan to write a more detailed review explaining why this is my favourite film of all time to take over this space. I will leave this old review up for keepsakes, but I will also include the new text to be visible first in the foreseeable future.

  Before I begin, I would like to say that this is not going to be a proper review and I want you to keep the one person behind it in mind.

  My name is Jaime Rebanal, and I am a hopeless individual who…

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  Review by Wood ★★★★ 5

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

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  Review by liam f ★★★★★ 10

  as a wise man once said, it matters not what you've done, but what you do with what you've done for others. thank you.

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  Review by Joel Haver ★★★★★ 7

  Life is brief and the world is a dark place full of mummies. Oh look, that one is climbing out of its sarcophagus. Must be faulty bandaging. The bandaging department should’ve taken care of that. Shame on them.

  No wait. It’s no one’s fault, he was simply tired of being a mummy. What a beautiful thought, to break free. I should do that too. With similar passion and tenacity. Yes, I’ll do exactly that. But not today. Today exhausts me. Exhausts all of us. Best to lay down. Tomorrow will be different though. Always tomorrow.

  Life is brief.

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  Review by Mad ★★★★★ 11

  100

  I'm just a little person
  One person in a sea
  Of many little people
  Who are not aware of me

  I do my little job
  And live my little life
  Eat my little meals
  Miss my little kid and wife

  
  In other words, a masterpiece.

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  Review by Emily Jayne ★★★★★ 7

  Once again I've seen why Kurosawa is constantly quoted by film buffs, modern directors, and lecturers as among their favorites. He is indeed a master of his craft.

  This beautiful tale could have been so ordinary...really it SHOULD have been so ordinary. "Life is about living" is no longer a unique thought. You'd find quotes saying as much in dozens of modern popcorn flicks and Pinterest boards alike.

  What Kurosawa has done here, though, is take a film that's premise is "What would you do with six months to live?" and instead asked the question "What makes a life worthwhile?" And surprise: The answer is not climbing Mt. Everest, or parasailing, or bungee jumping, or going from event to event…

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  Review by nick ★★★ 10

  Ikiru is a "loud" movie. Compared to other classics that deal with life and death, namely "Wild Strawberries" or "Ordet", Ikiru is less far atmospheric or philosophical than it is conventionally narrative, meaning other than several scenes where emotions outburst, it's a straightforward narration of a story without much emotional resonance.

  Then, Ikiru is not solely about an old man's last days after being diagnosed with cancer. A even larger runtime of the movie is allocated to the out-loud accusations of the Japanese bureaucracy. Even at the old man's wake, the supposedly climax of the movie is superseded by each of the old man's colleague accusing their superior of being impotent, so much so you would be kind of glad…

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  Review by Evan ★★★★★ 1

  Echoes of a man’s legacy remaining only through the creaks of the inanimate, impressions lasting on one good person for every dirty dozen. Kurosawa flips Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life on its head in the most extraordinary way, stripping it of its family-fare components and replacing them with bitter truths. Takashi Shimura gives what might just be the greatest performance of Japanese cinema, flawlessly depicting Watanabe’s growing lack of concern for job security or physical well-being in the realisation of what he’s facing, the very essence of Walter White’s ethos. Not only does Ikiru seem responsible for the framework of AMC’s tallest achievement Breaking Bad, the latter half seems to directly influence Lumet’s universally praised classic 12 Angry Men. This…

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  Review by Filipe Furtado ★★★★ 1

  It is called "To Live" and when the protagonist decides to do so, people in the background starts to sing "happy birthday", let's just say that even by Kurosawa's "captain obvious" standards, Ikiru is not subtle. Yet, movies are to be lived not read, and Ikiru is so expansive, so detailed in its imagination of that man's final days and Shimura's performance of it so affecting that nothing like that matters. Every underlined image hit like they are fresh and unexpected. Mr Watanabe wounds so real, Kurosawa's in your face approach just making it more so.