Ikiru (1952)

IMDb plot summary: A bureaucrat tries to find a meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Directed by Akira Kurosawa. Starring Takashi Shimura, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, and Minoru Chiaki.

(Some spoilers about the ending.)

I generally like Kurosawa's movies a lot -- they're very relatable, no matter what the subject matter is. This one, however, falls in the same category as Ran: a movie I admire I very much but don't LOVE. The flashback scenes in the second half of the movie didn't really work for me, as it seemed a very roundabout way of telling the story, and it bothered me a bit that we never got any resolution at all about the story with the girl.

Those few issues aside, though, I thought there were a lot of very moving moments. I definitely made a few mental comparisons between this and Wild Strawberries, but I liked this much better. The main character was very sympathetic, and it was wonderful watching him stand up and try to do something with his last few months.

3.5 stars.

Flickchart: #757 out of 2202, below Men in Black III and above The Mistress of Spices.