Ikiru (To Live)

Tells about an aging civil servant who after learning he has six months to live decides to spend his last few months in an act of civic generosity by helping to build a playground in a poor section of the city. Combines poetic imagery and a complex structure of flashbacks exploring not just one life but the lives of a broad range of urban types--prostitutes, poets, office workers, friends, and shop girls--to pay tribute to the human spirit. Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kurosawa.