What’s it about?

After being told that he’s terminally ill, a bureaucrat commits himself to find meaning in the time he has left.

What’d we think?

I went into this one a little cautiously, as I’m a huge fan of the original Kurosawa film on which Living is based and wanted to steel myself for any potential mishandling, but I really needn’t have worried. Living is a beautiful film that looks and death and life with a gentle sensitivity, without being tempted to throw any melodrama into the mix. Bill Nighy’s not exactly known for phoning it in, but he deserved his recent Oscar nomination, turning in a quiet and thoughtful performance worthy of all the praise he’s been getting.
Some movies are guilty pleasures, Living is a simple pleasure – a small-scale, slow-paced examination of what really matters in life, carried by an exceptional performance by Bill Nighy.