I was at the closing night of the Toho Cinema. The film they showed was Kurosawa’s Ikiru…To Live…with Takashi Shimura. A clerk finds out he is dying of cancer and builds a children’s park, to give something back. The movie ends with him on a swing in his park, humming a sad little tune, accompanied by the sobbing of 600 people in the theater, myself included. In the lobby were posters of the great Kurosawa films they had shown. The entire staff of the theater was in Japanese ceremonial dress. They thanked each person individually for attending. Auld Lang Syne was played over the loudspeaker. People were literally staggering, blinded by tears, clutching onto walls and railings. Years later I met someone who had been at the same performance. We agreed that seldom in our lives did we feel as close to suicide.
I was at the closing night of the Toho Cinema. The film they showed was Kurosawa’s Ikiru…To Live…with Takashi Shimura. A clerk finds out he is dying of cancer and builds a children’s park, to give something back. The movie ends with him on a swing in his park, humming a sad little tune, accompanied by the sobbing of 600 people in the theater, myself included. In the lobby were posters of the great Kurosawa films they had shown. The entire staff of the theater was in Japanese ceremonial dress. They thanked each person individually for attending. Auld Lang Syne was played over the loudspeaker. People were literally staggering, blinded by tears, clutching onto walls and railings. Years later I met someone who had been at the same performance. We agreed that seldom in our lives did we feel as close to suicide.
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