Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.
The film critiques bureaucratic inertia and explores an individual's search for meaning in the face of death, championing personal initiative and selfless contribution to the community rather than a specific political ideology.
The film features an all-Japanese cast, which is culturally authentic and traditional for its setting and origin, without any explicit DEI-driven casting choices. Its narrative focuses on existential themes and critiques of bureaucracy, rather than engaging with or explicitly critiquing traditional identities in a DEI context.
The film's narrative implicitly affirms principles often associated with Buddhist philosophy, such as finding meaning in impermanence, the importance of selfless action, and achieving inner peace through compassion. Watanabe's transformation and serene death, achieved through dedicated service to others, align with a positive portrayal of these virtues.
Ikiru does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The story centers on a dying bureaucrat's quest for purpose, with all narrative elements focused on his personal and familial relationships within a heteronormative context.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Ikiru is an original screenplay, not an adaptation or a reboot of existing characters. All characters were created for this film with their depicted genders, thus no gender swaps occurred from prior established canon.
Ikiru is an original Japanese film from 1952, featuring fictional characters created for the movie. There is no prior source material or historical record establishing the characters as a different race than depicted.
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources