Bristol Humanists' Film Club - Ikiru (by Akira Kurosawa)

July's instalment of the Humanists Film Club is the 1952 Japanese tragedy Ikiru (生きる), directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa.

Ikiru (1952), meaning 'to live' in Japanese, is the story of an elderly bureaucrat, Kanji Watanabe (played by Takashi Shimura), who after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, begins to dramatically re-evaluate his entire life and question what it means to live well. Reflecting on his troubled family life as well as his grindingly monotonous job, Kanji begins to realise that the secrets to living well in this brief existence are playful acts of appreciation and kindness to our fellow humanity. Called one of Kurosawa's greatest films, and hailed by critic Wally Hammond as "one of the triumphs of Humanist cinema", Ikiru is a poignant, philosophical examination by a master storyteller about how to truly live in a fleeting world with authenticity and passion. The screenplay was partly inspired by Tolstoy's novella The Death of Ivan Illyich. It was a huge box office success in Japan. It also inspired a 2022 British remake Living, adapted by Kazuo Ishiguro, starring Bill Nighy.

Kurosawa, who died in 1988, is probably Japan's best known and revered filmmaker, with a global impact with such films as Kagemusha, Ran, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Hidden Fortress (which heavily influenced George Lucas's Star Wars) and Dreams. Perhaps his most famous film The Seven Samurai, was remade as the western The Magnificent Seven.

What - film with a broadly humanist theme, followed by discussion in a local pub
Where - 20th Century Flicks, on Christmas Steps, which has 2 intimate cinemas for private screenings. We have booked the 18 seat Videodrome cinema. After the film we will go to the Christmas Steps pub to discuss what we have just seen.
Who - organised by BH member Alex, on behalf of Bristol Humanists
Cost - Bristol Humanists has booked the cinema. The cost will be £10 per person - you can pay in cash or by card at the venue on the night (not in advance). We need a minimum of 10 people for the event to run.
When - Monday 28th July at 6.50pm, with the film starting at 7pm. The film runs for 143 minutes

How to reserve your place
RSVP to this Meet Up event, but please only do so if you are definitely attending. If you have RSVP'd and are then unable to attend please change your RSVP to 'No' so that your space can be offered to someone else