Movie

Ikiru

“A big story of a little man which will grip your soul...”

★ 8.3(1,347)19522h 23m

Ikiru is streaming on Criterion Channel in Canada, and available to rent or buy on Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies and YouTube. Availability checked 12 June 2026.

Where to watch Ikiru

🇨🇦 Canada

Criterion ChannelStream

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Good to know

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Release date: 1952-10-09
Runtime: 2h 23m
Language: Japanese
Box office: $55,240
Status: Released
Country: Japan
Studio: TOHO

Ikiru — trailer

About Ikiru

Ikiru is a 1952 movie in the Drama genre, directed by Akira Kurosawa, starring Takashi Shimura, Haruo Tanaka and Nobuo Kaneko. It has a runtime of 2 hours 23 minutes. It holds an average rating of 8.3/10 from 1,347 viewers. Below you can see where to watch Ikiru in Canada — across streaming, rental and purchase options — along with the full cast, trailer and viewer reviews.

Synopsis

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

Cast

Takashi Shimura

Kanji Watanabe

Haruo Tanaka

Sakai

Nobuo Kaneko

Mitsuo, son of Kanji

Bokuzen Hidari

Ohara

Miki Odagiri

Toyo

Shinichi Himori

Kimura

Minoru Chiaki

Noguchi

Minosuke Yamada

Subordinate Clerk Saito

Kamatari Fujiwara

Sub-Section Chief Ono

Makoto Kobori

Kiichi Watanabe, Kanji's Brother

Nobuo Nakamura

Deputy Mayor

Atsushi Watanabe

Patient

Themes & keywords

dying and deathjapanbureaucracyage differencepraiseofficenight lifesense of lifeplaygroundobsequiesswinglonelinessoffice politicsblack and whiteco-workers relationship