Every Akira Kurosawa Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Akira Kurosawa's "Ikuru" is a loose adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich." The film is an examination of the value of life from the perspective of a man who knows his days are numbered. Kanju Watanabe worked the same droll bureaucratic job for decades, and as he approaches retirement, he's diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. With less than a year to live, he reevaluates his life and its meaning, given how he lived and what he will leave behind.

At first, he tries to find joy and entertainment in Tokyo's nightlife, but he ultimately finds solace in a young woman retiring from his company. She helps him find joy in life, which he hasn't been able to do. He spends his last days working to have a playground built to support the local children. Towards the film's end, Watanabe dies, leaving his mourners to wonder about his complete change in character.

It's a solemn story that focuses on heavy themes of death, family, dedication to work, and the meaning of life. The film has a lasting legacy and has been remade multiple times, and bill Nighy leads the most recent adaptation, "Living."