Living

One of the most acclaimed films of the year, Living is a deeply moving and life affirming drama about a man dealing with a terminal diagnosis featuring a pitch perfect central performance by Bill Nighy. The film is scripted by Kazuo Ishiguro and adapted from Akira Kurosawa’s 1953 Japanese masterpiece, Ikiru. In this remake, the story is transplanted to 1950s London where the narrow minded bureaucrat Mr Williams finds out he has terminal stomach cancer and decides to use his remaining time to ensure a much needed children’s playground is built nearby.

At heart, this is a story about death affirming life. It’s about how, in the wake of this man realising that his life is coming to an end, he’s pressured into living. I always thought that this was an important story to tell today because we sort of live in distraction. We live looking at our cell phones, looking into the future. It’s interesting to take a step back and wonder what it means to be present, actually, in your own life.

Director Oliver Hermanus