" I can't afford to hate people, I haven't got that kind of time."

Now I see why Kurosawa is constantly quoted by modern directors, and cinephiles as among their favorites. He is one of the finest craftsman we had.

My first Kurosawa film has left me astounded.
Ikiru - meaning 'To Live'.
It is called "To Live" and when the protagonist decides to do so, people in the background starts to sing "happy birthday", yet he has reborn.

It didn't once make me think about the year this was made; Ikiru never feels like a black and white film from 1952, and that's because it is from the work of a master. Akira Kurasowa the Legend.

Yet, movies are to be lived not read, and Ikiru is so expansive, so detailed in its imagination of that man's final days and Shimura's performance of it so affecting, that nothing like that matters. Every underlined image hit like they are fresh and unexpected.

"It's our human duty to enjoy life."