This is a stately, majestic masterpiece of world cinema. My parents first took me to it at the age of 5 or 6, and a few images stuck with me forever.
Watanabe is a colorless, boring civil servant who has put in his time at the city offices for 35 years ... and then learns he has but a few months to live. (Ikiru means "To Live.") Over the next few weeks he tries everything he can think of to deal with this awful news -- taking out his cash and going on the town, trying to enjoy life with and through a much younger female subordinate, attempting to reconnect with his estranged son....
Takashi Shimura offers one of the great acting performances of all time. It's hard to believe this is the same man who leads "The Seven Samurai" a few years later (never mind his hilarious cameo in the original "Godzilla" as a frightened peasant).
Formally, the film is a fascinating study of plotting and film editing. (What can you say about a movie whose opening shot is a stomach X-ray? See Donald Richie's excellent book _The Films of Akira Kurosawa_ for more in-depth discussion of this film's techniques.)
Be prepared to settle into this story. It's lengthy and not fast paced. If you can do this, you will be hugely rewarded.
