Ikiru (4K Restoration)

A bureaucrat who wakes up

Kanji Watanabe has been working in the same department at the municipality for 30 years. He signs papers, shuffles files, and lives on autopilot. Then he is told that he has stomach cancer and only has a short time to live. That diagnosis changes everything. For the first time in years, he asks himself what he actually wants to do with the life he has left.

Kurosawa's view on loneliness and meaning

In Ikiru (1952), director Akira Kurosawa is not concerned with death, but with what it means to truly live. With a calm pace and sharp observations, he shows how a person gets stuck in routine and how difficult it is to break out of it. The film is both sober and moving, without ever becoming sentimental.

The meaning of the title

Ikiru is Japanese for 'to live', or in other words: leading your life. The title summarizes the core of the film. The word does not refer to surviving, but to living consciously and meaningfully. Kurosawa develops this theme through an ordinary man in an everyday environment, which makes the film timeless.

Ikiru in 4K at Lab111

You can watch this classic in a renewed 4K restoration at Lab111 in Amsterdam. Are you interested? Via the link on this page, you will find the available screenings and tickets.