Ikiru  

Sometimes I think of my own death. I think of ceasing to be … out of those thoughts Ikiru emerged. (Akira Kurosawa)

In Ikiru (live) Kurosawa examines what constitutes real life, what gives life meaning. Kanji Watanabe has spent his working life in loyal service in a municipal complaints department and is looking forward to his retirement when he suddenly learns that he has a stomach cancer and only a few months to live. The news makes him aware of the extent to which he has wasted his life on a bureaucracy. At first Watanabe wants enjoyment for the remainder of his life but finds no fulfilment in it. He decides to fight within the bureaucracy for a project – a playground – and overcome the obstacles there and thus finds meaning in his short remaining life.