Speed Cinema Screenings: Ikiru 9/5/25 6PM

“I think this is one of the few movies that might actually be able to inspire someone to lead their life a little differently.”—Roger Ebert

One of the greatest achievements by Akira Kurosawa, Ikiru shows the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an exploration of death. Takashi Shimura beautifully portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer who is impelled to find meaning in his final days. 

Presented in a radically conceived two-part structure and shot with a perceptive, humanistic clarity of vision, Ikiru is a multifaceted look at what it means to be alive.

The film was remade by Oliver Hermanus in 2022 as Living, starring Bill Nighy and set in 1950s London. 1952, Japan, 4K DCP, in Japanese with English subtitles, 143 minutes. Recommended for 16+