LIVING (2022)

Well-intentioned & relatively faithful, this refashioning of Akira Kurosawa’s uncharacteristic IKIRU/’52 replants the story from ‘50s Japan to ‘50s London* in an adaptation that retains story arc & structure from Nagasaki-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro and director Oliver Hermanus.  This fable-like character study follows ultra-reserved mid-level city bureaucrat Bill Nighy who, after learning he only has months to live, comes alive (personally & professionally) just in time to complete a modest legacy project.  With four reels nipped from Kurosawa’s over-indulgent running time all to the good (the much-acclaimed original does hang fire), but a switch from what had been contemporary to what is now period setting distancing us by 70 years, inevitably adding squishy layers of nostalgia that risk pushing sentiment to sentimentality.*  Shot in a unique screen frame ratio of 1.48:1 (unexpectedly pleasing!), the intimate framing never feels cramped, often bursting into life.  Though it can’t quite cover the sense of manipulation that accompanies the lump in your throat.

DOUBLE-BILL:  *It’s just possible that Kurosawa saw J. B. Priestly’s LAST HOLIDAY, a 1950 Ealing Studios film with Alec Guinness whose similar elements come with a gimmick.

SCREWY THOUJGHT OF THE DAY:  *No doubt, Ishiguro felt ‘50s British social reticence would be more equivalent with Japan circa ‘52 than U.K. mores in 2022.  Or modern Japan come to think of it.