Takashi Shimura does a stellar job with a rare leading role in Kurosawa’s captivating melodrama IKIRU
IKIRU (TO LIVE) (DOOMED) (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
May 6-8, $13, 11:00 am
Series continues through August
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
In Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 gem, Ikiru, the great Takashi Shimura is outstanding as the simple-minded petty bureaucrat Kanji Watanabe, a paper-pushing section chief who has not taken a day off in thirty years. But when he suddenly finds out that he is dying of stomach cancer, he finally decides that there might be more to life than he thought after meeting up with an oddball novelist (Yunosuke Ito). While his son, Mitsuo (Nobuo Kaneko) and coworkers wonder just what is going on with him — he has chosen not to tell anyone about his illness — he begins cavorting with Kimura (Shinichi Himori), a young woman filled with a zest for life. Although the plot sounds somewhat predictable, Kurosawa’s intuitive direction, a smart script, and a marvelously slow-paced performance by Shimura make this one of the director’s best melodramas. Ikiru will be screening at 11:00 am on May 6-8 as part of the IFC Center’s Weekend Classics — Kurosawa series, with half of the proceeds from all festival screenings benefiting Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. Upcoming screenings include The Bad Sleep Well (May 20-22), The Hidden Fortress (May 27-30), and Stray Dog (June 3-5).