Watch Ikiru

The focus of Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru is Kanji Watanabe, a small-town bureaucrat who finds out that he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Watanabe, having led a fairly uninspired life, finds himself at a loss of what to do given his current predicament. Unable to discuss his health situation with his family, he decides to throw himself headlong into his work with a revitalized enthusiasm. Watanabe works hard at finding meaning in his, now rapidly waning, life. The film aptly depicts life in all its potential beauty, achievement, and wonder, as well as its moments of desperation and internal struggle.