Nineteen years ago today (this article was written on September 6), Akira Kurosawa, Japan's "Emperor of Cinema", passed away, leaving behind an immortal legend in the history of Japanese and even the world's film history. There are various reasons for admiring a director. For me, Akira Kurosawa is most admirable for the integration of Eastern and Western cultures. In his films, there are not only the display of Yamato's spirit, but also the exhaustive study of Western drama. Looking at the world's film industry, he may be the only director who can be called "leveraging the connotation of his country's culture to climb to the top of the world's film history".
Most well-known directors can basically summarize a style or a category they are good at. Taking the Japanese film industry as an example, Ozu Yasujiro, Imamura Shohei, Mizoguchi Kenji, Naruse Miyoshio, etc. have all established their own styles, and have relatively fixed personalized labels from lens language to performance objects. However, in Akira Kurosawa, it is difficult to define a certain style. Whether it is the type of film, the role he creates, or the way he moves the camera, he never sticks to the rules. Even as a close friend of Ishiro Honda, the pioneer of Japanese special photography, Akira Kurosawa once wanted to direct a "Godzilla" movie. Unfortunately, Toho was worried that the budget was too large and could not do it.
After breaking through the barriers of "style", it is possible to describe "people" themselves more extensively and thoroughly. In the golden age of Akira Kurosawa, many civilian films with exquisite structure, solid text and strong literary flavor were shot, and "The Desire of Life" is the most representative work among them. Akira Kurosawa once said: "I sometimes think about my own death, and I think that one day I will no longer be alive. But I always feel that I have so little to live, so I start to meditate, but my mood is not sad." The paragraph can be seen as his original intention for making this film, and it can also be seen as the "soul" of the film - as long as you live a worthwhile life, don't mourn for death.
Akira Kurosawa, his official screenwriter Hashimoto Shinobu, and the hero of the small country all believe in a theme that can be explained in one sentence. In his own words, "Real good movies are interesting and easy to understand." The theme of "Desire to Live" is "A man with seventy-five days left to live". The protagonist Kanji Watanabe is the section chief of the city government's civic department. He is a model worker who has worked hard for 30 years. However, he was diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer during an examination in the hospital. What about the rest of the day? It is not only the life problem that plagues the protagonist, but also the only suspense that drives the development of the plot.
As mentioned earlier, Akira Kurosawa's films often integrate Eastern and Western cultures, so the shadow of "Faust" can obviously be seen in "The Desire of Life". Although Faust, the protagonist of Faust, is erudite and talented, his academic achievements are difficult to satisfy. At this time, the devil Mephistopheles made a covenant with him: to meet all his requirements during his life, the price is in exchange for his soul after death. With the help of the devil, Faust walked out of the study and tried to experience the rich worldly life, such as lingering in restaurants, chasing women and other worldly pleasures.
Watanabe in this film is almost another Faust. At the end of his life, he hoped to get relief from his son, but found that his son and daughter-in-law were indifferent to him, but coveted his savings and retirement money. Sadly, he had to look at the photos of his deceased wife to recall the past and burst into tears. In desperation, Watanabe took out half of his savings, hoping to get relief by spending lavishly. In the tavern, he met a guest, and under the guidance of the other party, he bought a new hat and went to many sensual places. On the other hand, he had a vague affection for a young female subordinate, whose youth and vitality made him seem to have a new sustenance for life.
The similarity between the two is also that neither Faust nor Watanabe found relief in the indulgence of sensuality, but rekindled ideals and enthusiasm. The difference is that the former rushes towards the spiritual journey of finding an ideal society, while the latter seeks value from work again. Here, we can see the consistent general pattern and Bushido spirit of Akira Kurosawa's films, often revealing a lot of hidden things in depth. What he does is not only to show Japanese culture, but also to reflect on Japan's standpoint. Japanese culture, such as "Dream" reflects environmental issues, "The Drunken Angel" reflects social issues, "The Lazy Sleeper" reflects political issues, and "Desire for Life" reflects institutional issues.
Although the protagonist of this film is a small person, the director reflects the entire Japanese society with his life, and uses his perspective to survey the past, present and future of time. The large pattern and high focus have already broken through the limitations of types and scenes. Kurosawa subtly divides the film into two halves, the first half is Watanabe searching for answers in existentialism, and the second half is tracing and evaluating his actions after his death through the mouths of others at the funeral. The plot of the funeral is the core of "Desire to Live", and it appears objective and fair in the way it is handled, avoiding pretense and hypocrisy, making Watanabe's image not seem like a moral hero, but quite a stalwart. More importantly, the ills of the Japanese government system have been exposed. The overstaffing, the cadavers, the prevarication, and the inefficiency are all revealed by Watanabe's hunched figure.
There must be a mention of Kurosawa Akira's queen actor Shimura Joe. In addition to Professor Yamane in "Godzilla" and Kanbei in "Seven Samurai", I am afraid that Kanji Watanabe is one of his most famous screen characters. With his peculiar bitter melon face, coupled with a large number of close-up shots rarely seen in Akira Kurosawa's works, Shimura Takashi vividly interprets Watanabe's despair and helplessness and the courage to fight the system single-handedly, releasing huge vitality and Infectivity. The authoritative British magazine "Total Film" once listed Watanabe in "Desire to Live" as the thirty-seventh greatest hero in film history.
Akira Kurosawa said: "Every time I make a movie, I experience a colorful life. I experience all kinds of life from the movie. All kinds of people have lived together as one.” It can be said that Akira Kurosawa has always been a humanitarian, and he has observed the human nature and the self-destiny of the world with compassion and compassion. Therefore, "The Desire of Life" is both an inspirational film and a satire; it is both a funeral and a new life. But in the final analysis, it uses the life of ordinary people to test the quality of morality and to think about the meaning of existence.
♑
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