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The 1952 Japanese film Ikiru (生きる) will play at Oakland's Melwood Screening Room on January 29 as part of the occasional Essential Film Series.
Ikiru presents [Akira Kurosawa] at his most compassionate -- affirming life through an exploration of a man's death. Takashi Shimura portrays an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer forced to strip the veneer off his existence and find meaning in his final days. Told through a series of flashbacks, it looks at a life through a prism of perspectives.The movie begins at 8:00 pm and tickets are $2. The theater is located at 477 Melwood Ave. (map).