Back to trending
Ikiru

Ikiru

Drama · 1952

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.

Movie details

Ikiru

“A big story of a little man which will grip your soul...”

1952 Drama 2h 23m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.3 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Ikiru?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Nobody Knows

Nobody Knows

Drama · 2004

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

War · 1959

Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

War · 1959

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

All About Lily Chou-Chou

All About Lily Chou-Chou

Drama · 2001

Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star Lily Chou-Chou.

Barefoot Gen 2

Barefoot Gen 2

Animation · 1986

Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.

Sakuran

Sakuran

History · 2006

Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

Animation · 2018

Fleeing the war, the immortal Maquia, graced with eternal youth, finds a baby abandoned in the forest and decides to raise it as her own child, sparking a moving story between a mortal and a being who does not age.

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451

Drama · 1966

In the future, the government maintains control of public opinion by outlawing literature and maintaining a group of enforcers, known as “firemen,” to perform the necessary book burnings. Fireman Montag begins to question the morality of his vocation…

All or Nothing

All or Nothing

Drama · 2002

Penny works at a supermarket and Phil is a gentle taxi-driver. Penny’s love for Phil has run dry and they lead joyless lives with their two children, Rachel, a cleaner, and Rory, who is unemployed and aggressive.

The Life of Chuck

The Life of Chuck

Drama · 2025

In this extraordinary story of an ordinary man, Charles 'Chuck' Krantz experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Akira Kurosawa

Written by

Shinobu Hashimoto · Akira Kurosawa · Hideo Oguni

Takashi Shimura

Takashi Shimura

Kanji Watanabe

Haruo Tanaka

Haruo Tanaka

Sakai

Nobuo Kaneko

Nobuo Kaneko

Mitsuo, son of Kanji

Bokuzen Hidari

Bokuzen Hidari

Ohara

Miki Odagiri

Miki Odagiri

Toyo

Shinichi Himori

Shinichi Himori

Kimura

Minoru Chiaki

Minoru Chiaki

Noguchi

Court is in session

Put Ikiru on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.