I Live in Fear

1955

1h 43m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

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Drama

Kiichi Nakajima, an elderly foundry owner, is convinced that Japan will be affected by an imminent nuclear war, and resolves to move his family to safety in Brazil. His family decides to have him ruled incompetent and Dr. Harada, a Domestic Court counselor, attempts to arbitrate.

Directors

Akira Kurosawa

Writers

Shinobu Hashimoto(writer by)

Akira Kurosawa(story by)

Hideo Oguni(writer by)

Stars

Toshirō Mifune

Takashi Shimura

Minoru Chiaki

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Top cast

Toshirō Mifune

Kiichi Nakajima

Takashi Shimura

Domestic Court Counselor Dr. Harada

Minoru Chiaki

Jiro Nakajima

Masao Shimizu

Yamazaki, Yoshi's husband

Toyo Nakajima

Sue Nakajima

Yoshi Nakajima

Kimie Nakajima

Asako Kuribayashi

Ryoichi Sayama

Mr. Kuribayashi father

Old man from Brazil

Ichiro Nakajima

Okamoto

Judge Araki

Factory Worker Ishida

Kiyomi Mizunoya

Satoko

Gen Shimizu

Directors

Akira Kurosawa

Writers

Shinobu Hashimoto(writer by)

Akira Kurosawa(story by)

Hideo Oguni(writer by)

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Review

Featured review

7/10

This is a far cry from the usual Kurosawa/Mifune effort; indeed in this, Toshirô Mifune is almost unrecognisable. No brave, honourable Samurai this time, but an elderly foundry-owner who is paranoid about the potential impact of nuclear war on his family. To this end, he is determined to sell up and relocate his family to Brazil. The family don't fancy this idea much and try to have him certified. What ensues is a battle of wills, priorities and personalities set against a traditional set of Japanese family structures and values. Viewed, largely, from the perspective of independent arbiter "Dr. Harada" (Takashi Shimura) who has been drafted in to help settle the matter amicably; we visit the perfectly valid (though frequently selfish) approaches taken by both Mifune and his family - who have plenty of scores to settle amongst themselves - as the film tries to establish the best course of action to satisfy both parties. There is quite an interesting scene mid-way through when at the height of their dispute, the old man returns to the court armed with bottles of pop which he has bought for his family to help combat the unrelenting heat, indicating that he clearly still cares greatly for his family, even though they are at loggerheads... and for me, that rather sums the whole thing up - there isn't necessarily a right or wrong solution; it's about individuality and choice but ultimately the happiness of others; and Mifune is great. I found the last fifteen minutes quite sad, perhaps building on the old adage about families and money. Japan, for a good while, struggled to reconcile itself to the realities of a post-Hiroshima threat, so from an observer some 6,000 miles away it can be hard to understand just how viscerally the danger of repetition was taken by many - this film is a thought provoking, emotional - and, at times humorous, glimpse into that fear.

Geronimo196714 Nov, 2022