Akira Kurosawa's humanist masterpiece follows an aging Tokyo bureaucrat, played unforgettably by Takashi Shimura, who, on learning he has terminal cancer, searches for meaning in his hollow life and resolves to push a children's playground through the city's indifferent bureaucracy. Structured in two halves, culminating in a snow-swept swing set, it is a profound meditation on mortality and purpose. Regularly cited among the greatest films ever made, it is quietly, overwhelmingly moving.