Ikiru
Takashi Shimura .... Kanji Watanabe
Shinichi Himori .... Kimura
Haruo Tanaka .... Sakai
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Release Year: 1952
rating: 3.8/4.0
quote: Life is so short / Fall in love, dear maiden / While your lips are still red / And before you are cold, / For there will be no tomorrow.
Kurosawa has a nickname on IMDB as "The Emperor". I'm not sure if that is because of his superlative body of work or because he is a 6' Tokyo native. I developed a taste for Kurosawa films during my "Development of Cinema" course back in 95. Some of his films are more accessible than others(Seven Samurai, Yojimbo(I've heard), Ran, Hidden Fortress, Throne of Blood), and Ikiru can be added to that list.
Kanji Watanabe is the modern day equivalent of middle management. Nothing can get done in his office without him, but all he does is read forms and stamps them. It's been like that for over 30 years. Then one day, he goes to the doctor with stomach ailments. The doctor says it's nothing serious and to stick to a diet of easily digestable food. However, he learned via another patient that such a diagnosis was what they told everyone with stomach cancer and that he only has 6 months to live. What happens in the next 6 months is more than what's happened to him his whole life, and what he'll be remembered by.
Kurosawa's innovative camera shots and use of lighting are in full swing in this film. His formal training as a painter comes through in his shots are blocked, transitioned, and how the action takes place on screen. Ikiru is not the feel-good hit of 52 that I would introduce people to Kurosawa with, but it is definately a must-see for those who appreciate cinema and Japanese culture.
and now for something completely different.
Batman Begins
Christian Bale .... Bruce Wayne/Batman
Michael Caine .... Alfred
Liam Neeson .... Ducard
Katie Holmes .... Rachel Dawes
Gary Oldman .... Jim Gordon
Cillian Murphy .... Dr. Jonathan Crane
Tom Wilkinson .... Carmine Falcone
Rutger Hauer .... Earle
Ken Watanabe .... Ra's Al Ghul
Morgan Freeman .... Lucius Fox
Director: Christopher Nolan(Insomnia, Memento)
Release Year: 2005
rating: 3.0/4.0
quote: Alfred Pennyworth: [Alfred tries to lift a wooden beam off Bruce Wayne who struggles] Sir, whatever is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a log?
Ah... Batman's back where he belongs! Out of the neon and nipple suits and back in black and shadow. While the movie couldn't overcome inertia in the first 45min., it quickly begins to pickup pace all the way to the end. Well worth the buckage to see it on the big screen.