Akira Kurosawa moved outside his usual stylistic preoccupations to make this poetic and emotionally powerful work about a gravely ill, quiet and dignified civil servant who vows to find grace and purpose in his final months, through the building of a public park. It's a thoughtful, contemplative, lyrical work centered by Takashi Shimura's virtuoso performance. With Nobuo Kaneko, Kyoko Seki and Miki Odagiri. In Japanese with English subtitles.                     Akira Kurosawa---Japan---1952---143 mins.