Movies - Living : Discover the trailer

By Mulder, 05 november 2022

Living is a British drama film directed by Oliver Hermanus from a screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro, adapted from the 1952 Japanese film Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa, itself inspired by the 1886 Russian novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. Set in London in 1953, the film features a bureaucrat (played by Bill Nighy) facing a deadly disease. Living is a moving humanist fable about how an ordinary man discovers the extraordinary meaning of life.

In October 2020, the project was announced with Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood in the lead roles. In December 2020, Lionsgate acquired the UK distribution rights. In June 2021, principal photography began in the UK, Alex Sharp and Tom Burke were announced as joining the film, and the first image from the film was released. It was also announced that Toho, the distributor of the original film, had acquired the rights for Japan. London's County Hall provided the backdrop for the film in addition to financing it.

Living had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2022, and was released in the UK on November 4, 2022, by Lionsgate. The film has received positive reviews, with Nighy's performance receiving particular praise.

Synopsis:
1953. London is still licking its wounds after the Second World War. Williams (Bill Nighy), a seasoned civil servant, is a helpless cog in the city's administrative system as it rebuilds. He leads a dull and uninteresting life, but all that changes when he is diagnosed with a serious illness that forces him to take stock of his life. Rejecting his mundane and routine life, Williams will finally live his life to the fullest.
 
Living
Directed by Oliver Hermanus
Screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro
Based on Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Produced by Stephen Woolley, Elizabeth Karlsen
Starring Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke
Cinematography: Jamie D. Ramsay
Edited by Chris Wyatt
Music by Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Production companies : Number 9 Films, Ingenious Media, Film4, BFI
Distributed by Lionsgate UK
Release dates : 21 January 2022 (Sundance), 4 November 2022 (United Kingdom)
Running time : 102 minutes