One of the most intriguing things I found about Kurasawa;s film Ikiru was that it seemed to be composed of a series of portraits which encapsulate the film. One of the first portraits was that of Watanabe's stomach. This portrait sets the whole story in motion and is the catalyst in Watanabe's life. I too thought that the x-ray bore a striking resemblance to either Japanese characters or to Asian ink paintings of distant landscapes enveloped in mist. There is also a rapid montage of portraits in the beginning of the film when the village women encounter all of the various government officials. In my mind, this swift parade of faces speaks well of the vicious cycle of bureaucracy those women witnessed firsthand.

The most obvious portrait example is the literal portrait of Watanabe present at his funeral. It is cold, motionless, and framed on two levels (once by the picture frame the photograph is in and by the frame of the camera as well). It represents how the visitors to his funeral tend to regard him: they see his actions in creating the park as merely a function of his office. He is a two dimensional figure defined by that office. To a large extent, that portrait represented a significant portion of his life. However, there is also another portrait of him that signifies the change that occurred in him after learning of his terminal illness. I believe that portrait was the image of Watanabe singing the song "Life is Brief" to himself while swinging in the park. This image is also double framed by the structure of the jungle gym we view him through in addition to the camera frame. I suppose it too could be considered cold (it was snowing at the time), but it is not motionless or two dimensional. This portrait transcends two dimensions by the low sound of Watanabe's voice and the slow movement of the swing. The film for me seems to come full circle with another portrait. There is a co-worker of Watanabe who after the visit of the deputy Mayor and other government officials is the first to assert that the creation of the park was not just a result of Watanabe doing his job. He was not taken in by the Deputy Mayor's drivel about public officials and politics, and he seemed genuinely moved by Watanabe's effort to transform a festering cesspool into something positive. Yet towards the end of the film when another individual is referred to another department for help (much like the group of women in the beginning were) he stands up as if to protest, but then sits back down and returns to his mounds of paperwork. The portrait of Watanabe's co-worker is yet another example of the double frame since we view him through a rectangle of open space within stacks of paperwork as well as through the camera frame.

Personally, I found it difficult not to view this as a "social problem" film. The two strongest themes I really took from viewing it related to the inefficiency of bureaucracy and to the frailty of human life. I think it had a greater impact upon me than the other films we viewed since it seemed less ambiguous. In both Seven Samurai andRashomon there were multiple side of the story to be perceived and none of those sides seemed qualitatively "good" or "bad." In Ikiru , however, the presence of a "good" and a "bad" side were much more clear to me, but perhaps that is because of my own experiences.