44
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasA heart-tugger made totally irresistible because of the combination of Kitano's wry, sly sense of humor and his rigorous detachment.
- 83Portland OregonianKim MorganPortland OregonianKim MorganIt is off-putting at first, then refreshing, then downright touching. In short, it works.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumAn experimental feature that keeps shooting off its ideas like an endless row of skyrockets, Kikujiro ultimately conveys this grief with such sustained intensity that it can only leave a scorched path of devastation in its aftermath.
- 75Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMiami HeraldRene RodriguezThis genial, lyrical little movie seems guaranteed to broaden Kitano's fan base in the United States.
- 63San Francisco ChronicleBob GrahamSan Francisco ChronicleBob GrahamThe comic drama is refreshingly anti- sentimental but will break your heart anyway.
- 63Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertChicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertIf the movie finally doesn't work as well as it should, it may be because the material isn't a good fit for Kitano's hard-edged underlying style.
- 50USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkIt's tough to think of another child-adult pairing in a long screen tradition with so little emotional kick.
- 40TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen FoxAppears to be a complete about-face for Kitano, and yet it's unmistakably his, both stylistically (the film is gorgeous to look at) and thematically.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenNot only is Kikujiro sweet and funny, it is, no doubt, Kitano's experimental "art film."
- 0Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe film isn't just bad; it's a barely coherent, inert mess -- a heart-tugger for voidoids.