Tuesday, February 14, 2006
GOLDEN STANDARD
Today's Best 1176 NYTimes Film is one of the thirteen basic stories. Boring and bored guy faces death; guy gets reborn; guy does something worthwhile.
Nothing new.
But, in the hands of the great Kurosawa, the standard becomes unique.
In this case, a widowed bureaucrat, who has frozen his life for his work and his son, comes up with gastric cancer; six months to live.
Things happen. He changes. He makes a difference.
It is great!
Actually, this is all our story. We all have only so long. We know it. How can we make a difference?
The structure is interesting. The first half is seen with the guy. The second half is seen by the people left behind. A sort of piecing together of the truth of his life takes place at his funeral.
Overlay is a look at the Japanese bureaucracy. In the early portion there is a visit to Tokyo's night town. So it is a good cultural dunk too.
It is all good.
Gotta, gotta, gotta see it.
It is a 5 out of the Netflix5.
