Implementing an approach that seems to linger between “Kikujiro” and “Shoplifters” at least in its narrative base, “My Brother” is a very interesting road movie that also deals intently with the concept of family.
Yuya is a young man who has trouble holding down jobs, as the initial scenes of the movie highlight quite eloquently. One night, while returning home, he gets involved in a fight with two other men on the street, in a series of events that end up with him discovering a young boy, Kaito, taking refuge in a car. Suspecting the boy is neglected and abused, thus reminding him much of himself, Yuya decides to take him with him on a road trip to see the ocean, and also his own, estranged mother. As they meet a number of people, they experience a number of adventures, they become closer, and also move many steps forward in finding solace in life.
Yuya is a young man who has trouble holding down jobs, as the initial scenes of the movie highlight quite eloquently. One night, while returning home, he gets involved in a fight with two other men on the street, in a series of events that end up with him discovering a young boy, Kaito, taking refuge in a car. Suspecting the boy is neglected and abused, thus reminding him much of himself, Yuya decides to take him with him on a road trip to see the ocean, and also his own, estranged mother. As they meet a number of people, they experience a number of adventures, they become closer, and also move many steps forward in finding solace in life.
- 9/16/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
When at some point in the near future “Neck” is released, it will not only be a new feature directed by Takeshi Kitano, but also, as the filmmaker himself claimed, his last directorial effort. Given the pace with which he has worked and also the fact Kitano tried to balance his many projects, as a director, a TV host, a painter and an author (to name but a few), it is perhaps no surprise to hear the 75-year-old wishing to slow down a bit. Still, the phenomenon that is Kitano still continues to fascinate audiences in his home country Japan as well as internationally ever since he has left his mark with feature such as “Hana-Bi” and “Kikujiro”, or, perhaps lesser known to some, as the host of formats like “Takeshi’s Castle”. In 2020, French filmmaker Yves Montmayeur, who already made features about Yakuza-cinema and Pink films, tackled the life and...
- 4/25/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Kitano Takeshi, a contemporary icon of Japanese cinema, is to receive a lifetime achievement award next month at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy.
“A legendary artist on Friday the 29th of April will receive the Golden Mulberry Award for lifetime achievement on the stage of Feff 24,” the festival announced Friday with barely concealed delight.
Kitano who has film credits as writer, director, producer and performer, as well as a whole TV comedy career, is known for the brutal sergeant he played alongside David Bowie and Sakamoto Ryuichi in Oshima Nagisa’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” and for incursions into Hollywood in “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Ghost in the Shell.”
His Japanese oeuvre ranges from fine art to gangster genre thriller. He has credits in film noir (“Violent Cop”), romance (“A Scene at the Sea”), drama masterpieces and hard-boiled cult saga “Outrage.”
“For Far East Film Festival 24, a truly...
“A legendary artist on Friday the 29th of April will receive the Golden Mulberry Award for lifetime achievement on the stage of Feff 24,” the festival announced Friday with barely concealed delight.
Kitano who has film credits as writer, director, producer and performer, as well as a whole TV comedy career, is known for the brutal sergeant he played alongside David Bowie and Sakamoto Ryuichi in Oshima Nagisa’s “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence,” and for incursions into Hollywood in “Johnny Mnemonic” and “Ghost in the Shell.”
His Japanese oeuvre ranges from fine art to gangster genre thriller. He has credits in film noir (“Violent Cop”), romance (“A Scene at the Sea”), drama masterpieces and hard-boiled cult saga “Outrage.”
“For Far East Film Festival 24, a truly...
- 3/18/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
After winning the Golden Lion Award at the 1997 Venice Film Festival for “Hana-Bi”, the interest in Takeshi Kitano’s works as a director was at its peak, with many calling him one of the most important filmmakers in today’s Japan, even going so far as to compare him to Akira Kurosawa. While the international fame was certainly not unwelcome, Kitano could not help but notice the shift between the media attention he received in his home country versus the way he was now perceived in other countries, but also how he was associated with the yakuza-genre and the themes within it. In a way, his next feature “Kikujiro” can be viewed as a means to show a different side to his persona and his work, one which had already been present in “Kids Return” or “A Scene at the Sea”, and also an exploration into a genre he had not done before,...
- 2/1/2022
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Sports biopic starring Gong Li grossed $24.8m on its opening weekend, one week ahead of China’s National Holidays.
Peter Ho-sun Chan’s Leap has vaulted over the competition in its opening weekend at the China box office (September 25-27), grossing $24.8m for pole position in the chart, according to figures from Artisan Gateway.
The film stars Gong Li as Chinese volleyball legend Lang Ping, who coached the China women’s national volleyball team to gold medal victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It was originally scheduled for release over Chinese New Year, but was pushed back when cinemas were shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Peter Ho-sun Chan’s Leap has vaulted over the competition in its opening weekend at the China box office (September 25-27), grossing $24.8m for pole position in the chart, according to figures from Artisan Gateway.
The film stars Gong Li as Chinese volleyball legend Lang Ping, who coached the China women’s national volleyball team to gold medal victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics. It was originally scheduled for release over Chinese New Year, but was pushed back when cinemas were shuttered due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
- 9/28/2020
- by Liz Shackleton
- ScreenDaily
Peter Chan’s volleyball drama “Leap” has jumped above its competition in China this weekend with a $24.6 million three-day debut, highlighting Chinese audiences’ continued preference for well-crafted local titles, according to data from the Maoyan industry tracker.
The score is higher than the $23 million opening of Disney’s “Mulan” the weekend of Sept. 11, but less than that of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” which opened the first week of the month with $32.3 million. “Leap” benefits, however, from an assist of new government regulations that took effect Friday allowing cinemas to now sell 75% of available tickets rather than only 50%, in a relaxation of previous coronavirus prevention measures.
Both “Mulan” and “Leap” star China-born Singaporean actress Gong Li, who plays a powerful witch character in the former and the hard-driving, real-life head coach of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team Lang Ping in the latter.
Around $1.2 million of earnings for “Leap” came from 663 IMAX screens.
The score is higher than the $23 million opening of Disney’s “Mulan” the weekend of Sept. 11, but less than that of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” which opened the first week of the month with $32.3 million. “Leap” benefits, however, from an assist of new government regulations that took effect Friday allowing cinemas to now sell 75% of available tickets rather than only 50%, in a relaxation of previous coronavirus prevention measures.
Both “Mulan” and “Leap” star China-born Singaporean actress Gong Li, who plays a powerful witch character in the former and the hard-driving, real-life head coach of the Chinese women’s national volleyball team Lang Ping in the latter.
Around $1.2 million of earnings for “Leap” came from 663 IMAX screens.
- 9/27/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
China announced on Tuesday that it will soon relax pandemic-related restrictions currently placed on cinemas and allow venues to sell up to 75% of their available tickets.
Chinese cinemas are currently limited to just half capacity, but can shift over to selling 75% of their available tickets from Sept. 25, the China Film Distribution & Projection Association said in new guidelines released on their official social media accounts.
The move is a boon to struggling exhibitors, who have suffered through six months of shutdowns this year and only re-opened their doors in late July. It also comes after the release of Hollywood tentpoles “Tenet” and “Mulan,” but just as major Chinese blockbusters are set to bow over the upcoming National Day holiday.
Chinese authorities are seeking to ramp up cinema-going ahead of that period, when a slew of patriotic films will hit theaters, intended to boost morale and feelings of national pride.
Notably, Peter Chan’s “Leap,...
Chinese cinemas are currently limited to just half capacity, but can shift over to selling 75% of their available tickets from Sept. 25, the China Film Distribution & Projection Association said in new guidelines released on their official social media accounts.
The move is a boon to struggling exhibitors, who have suffered through six months of shutdowns this year and only re-opened their doors in late July. It also comes after the release of Hollywood tentpoles “Tenet” and “Mulan,” but just as major Chinese blockbusters are set to bow over the upcoming National Day holiday.
Chinese authorities are seeking to ramp up cinema-going ahead of that period, when a slew of patriotic films will hit theaters, intended to boost morale and feelings of national pride.
Notably, Peter Chan’s “Leap,...
- 9/15/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Cinemas in some parts of China have been told that they may now sell up to 50% of their available tickets for each screening and play films over two hours in length without restrictions starting from Aug. 14, local reports and leaked directives show.
Concessions may also now be sold — not to snack on in theaters, but, amusingly, as take-away.
The easing of theater restrictions is a big positive sign for the China box office prospects of Disney’s “Mulan,” which confirmed on Monday it would hit Chinese theaters “soon,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” which is set to debut in the country on Sept. 4.
Covid-19 has dealt a blow to the global box office dreams of both films, with Disney choosing to forgo theatrical in most markets and release its live-action remake on its own streaming platform.
Chinese cinemas reopened for the first time in six months on July 20. Initial national...
Concessions may also now be sold — not to snack on in theaters, but, amusingly, as take-away.
The easing of theater restrictions is a big positive sign for the China box office prospects of Disney’s “Mulan,” which confirmed on Monday it would hit Chinese theaters “soon,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” which is set to debut in the country on Sept. 4.
Covid-19 has dealt a blow to the global box office dreams of both films, with Disney choosing to forgo theatrical in most markets and release its live-action remake on its own streaming platform.
Chinese cinemas reopened for the first time in six months on July 20. Initial national...
- 8/11/2020
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
A projectionist and film journalist – and later film tutor – Makoto Shinozaki’s 1995 directorial debut “Okaeri” (“Welcome Home”) on first glance certainly appears the work of a novice. However, by the end of the film, there are certainly signs of accomplished filmmaking.
“Okaeri” was screened at Doc Films Chicago:
Young married couple the Kitazawas, Takashi (Susumu Terajima) and Yuriko (Miho Uemura), are bang average. Takashi works as a teacher, sometimes working late, sometimes talked into late night drinks, welcomed home by freelance transcriber Yuriko in their modest urban apartment. He is easily led, appearing to put work before his wife, while she quietly waits at home for his return; a fine meal prepared.
But the more time passes, the more Yuriko’s stares out the window into the void start to take their toll. Takashi fails to notice her blank stares until it is too late. Beginning to wander the streets aimlessly,...
“Okaeri” was screened at Doc Films Chicago:
Young married couple the Kitazawas, Takashi (Susumu Terajima) and Yuriko (Miho Uemura), are bang average. Takashi works as a teacher, sometimes working late, sometimes talked into late night drinks, welcomed home by freelance transcriber Yuriko in their modest urban apartment. He is easily led, appearing to put work before his wife, while she quietly waits at home for his return; a fine meal prepared.
But the more time passes, the more Yuriko’s stares out the window into the void start to take their toll. Takashi fails to notice her blank stares until it is too late. Beginning to wander the streets aimlessly,...
- 4/15/2019
- by Andrew Thayne
- AsianMoviePulse
Stars: Dankan, Takeshi Kitano, Moeko Ezawa, Hakuryu, Tokie Hidari, Yojin Hino | Written and Directed by Takeshi Kitano
From the acclaimed director Takeshi Kitano (Fireworks, Kikujiro) comes a bizarre, over the top and absurd comedy full of slapstick silliness and never ending gags. A great satire of Japanese society and popular cinema, Getting Any?, embraces the spirit of Kitano s early stand-up and television work and as such it offers a genuine inside look into his true personality.
The story follows the nerdy middle age Asao, a professional daydreamer, whose one and only goal in life is – as the title suggests – to get laid. Asao embarks on a series of slapstick adventures in search of fulfilling his ultimate fantasy – making wild passionate sex with a woman. His holy quest for sex lands Asao in a series of absurd situations, involving robbery schemes, big movie productions, yakuza gang rivalry wars and scientific experiments.
From the acclaimed director Takeshi Kitano (Fireworks, Kikujiro) comes a bizarre, over the top and absurd comedy full of slapstick silliness and never ending gags. A great satire of Japanese society and popular cinema, Getting Any?, embraces the spirit of Kitano s early stand-up and television work and as such it offers a genuine inside look into his true personality.
The story follows the nerdy middle age Asao, a professional daydreamer, whose one and only goal in life is – as the title suggests – to get laid. Asao embarks on a series of slapstick adventures in search of fulfilling his ultimate fantasy – making wild passionate sex with a woman. His holy quest for sex lands Asao in a series of absurd situations, involving robbery schemes, big movie productions, yakuza gang rivalry wars and scientific experiments.
- 10/18/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Close-Up is a column that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro (1999) is showing March 23 - April 22, 2017 in the United Kingdom in the series Kitano x 3.1With each viewing, Takeshi Kitano’s Kikujiro becomes increasingly porous. The gaps are clear: though the film is the story of Masao, a young boy searching for his estranged mother, and Kikujiro, the former yakuza forced to accompany him, they and the strangers they encounter exist without much background. The sleepy-eyed Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi) speaks only in short murmurs. Meanwhile, Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano) spends most of the film gambling off the two’s spending money at the track cycling racetracks, only to develop a compassion so subtle that he himself does not notice it. Simply put, the film is a blur, or a series of blurs.But these lacks of interconnectedness are why Kikujiro has only gotten better with age,...
- 3/23/2017
- MUBI
The last year has been great for Kitano Takeshi fans. While the director's recent output hasn't exactly set the world on fire outside of his two Outrage films, home video collectors have encountered a wealth of treasures as his early films have become available on Blu-ray for the first time in 2016. Most of these features came to us by way of UK specialist label Third Window Films, who've previous released Hana-bi, Kikujiro, Dolls, and A Scene at the Sea, and continue their winning record with Kids Return. However, now there's another label helping to fill in the gaps, Film Movement with their recent releases of Kitano's first two directorial features, Violent Cop and Boiling Point. Are they worth the upgrade? Check out our thoughts...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/28/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Scene at the Sea / Kids Return
UK company Third Window Films have announced the release of two more movie classics from the Japanese master-director, Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Fireworks), both remastered using new 2K transfers received directly from Office Kitano.
A Scene at the Sea releases first on September 12th, this time with a fascinating audio commentary by Midnight Eye’s very own Japanese cinema expert, Jasper Sharp. A Scene at the Sea tells the story of a young hearing-impaired couple’s discovery of surfing and their growing love for it. This film is sure to appeal to fans of Kitano’s quieter pieces.
Next up on October 24th is Kids Return, beautifully remastered and featuring a compelling audio commentary by Yale University’s professor of Japanese cinema, Aaron Gerow, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film back in 1996. Highly regarded amongst Kitano aficionados for...
UK company Third Window Films have announced the release of two more movie classics from the Japanese master-director, Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop, Fireworks), both remastered using new 2K transfers received directly from Office Kitano.
A Scene at the Sea releases first on September 12th, this time with a fascinating audio commentary by Midnight Eye’s very own Japanese cinema expert, Jasper Sharp. A Scene at the Sea tells the story of a young hearing-impaired couple’s discovery of surfing and their growing love for it. This film is sure to appeal to fans of Kitano’s quieter pieces.
Next up on October 24th is Kids Return, beautifully remastered and featuring a compelling audio commentary by Yale University’s professor of Japanese cinema, Aaron Gerow, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film back in 1996. Highly regarded amongst Kitano aficionados for...
- 8/12/2016
- by Robert Hill
- AsianMoviePulse
Today, New York independent distributor Film Movement Classics unveils the brand-new poster for Takeshi Kitano’s 1990 film “Boiling Point,” designed exclusively for retrospective screenings by comic book artist Benjamin Marra. Marra designed the film’s one-sheet with a colorful, stylized illustration highlighting baseball and the Yakuza. Check it out below.
Read More: Review: Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Beyond Outrage’ Blows Up The Standard Gangster Movie Template
The film follows Masaki (Yûrei Yanagi), an unassuming gas station attendant who is a member of the losing sandlot baseball team The Eagles. After he runs afoul of a belligerent yakuza, The Eagles manager, an ex-yakuza himself, gets involved, setting Masaki on a haphazard quest for guns in Okinawa with his friend Kazuo (Duncan). There they are befriended by the extremely eccentric yakuza boss Takashi (Takeshi “Beat” Kitano), leading them straight into the tangled web of organized crime.
Benjamin Marra is best known for “Night Business,...
Read More: Review: Takeshi Kitano’s ‘Beyond Outrage’ Blows Up The Standard Gangster Movie Template
The film follows Masaki (Yûrei Yanagi), an unassuming gas station attendant who is a member of the losing sandlot baseball team The Eagles. After he runs afoul of a belligerent yakuza, The Eagles manager, an ex-yakuza himself, gets involved, setting Masaki on a haphazard quest for guns in Okinawa with his friend Kazuo (Duncan). There they are befriended by the extremely eccentric yakuza boss Takashi (Takeshi “Beat” Kitano), leading them straight into the tangled web of organized crime.
Benjamin Marra is best known for “Night Business,...
- 8/11/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
★★★★☆ After Hana-Bi and Kikujiro, Dolls is the third and final Blu-ray release from Third Window films in their collection of films by Japanese auteur Takeshi Kitano. Dolls is arguably the strangest of the three films and undoubtedly the most beautiful, with cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima filling the screen with stunning compositions of colour and motion. Holding the anthology narrative together are Matsumoto (Hidetoshi Nishijima) and Sawako (Miho Kanno). The pair were once engaged, before Matsumoto was forced by his parents to abandon her and marry his boss's daughter instead.
- 3/29/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
★★★★★ The mind of 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano is surely a singular and unique one. Last month saw the blu-ray release of his acclaimed crime melodrama Hana-bi, a compelling fable of violence, grief and nihilistic defiance. This month we are treated to his directorial follow up, Kikujiro, a comedy that is as similar to Hana-bi in style and structure as it is different in tone and content. As in Hana-bi, Kitano stars, this time as the eponymous grumpy, middle aged man who finds himself in the unlikely position of caring for a little boy, Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi). Masao is on the hunt for his long-lost mother whose whereabouts have recently been discovered; an acquaintance of Masao's grandmother, Kikujiro reluctantly agrees to take the boy to his mother.
- 2/22/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
All feature new 2K remasters from Office Kitano!
The first 1000 copies of each feature cardboard slipcases with new illustrated artwork by Marie Bergeron supported by Filmdoo’s Film Creativity Competition.
All 3 now available to pre-order at: http://amzn.to/20wQ1BA
Hana-bi – January 11th
30 minute documentary from the film’s original release
Interview with Takeshi Kitano from the film’s original release
New Audio commentary by film critic Mark Schilling
New trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTWtAE3ylY
Kikujiro – February 22nd
Jam Session – 90 minute documentary on Kikujiro directed by the award-winning Japanese director Makoto Shinozaki
Dolls – March 14th
Interviews with Takeshi Kitano, Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima & Yohij Yamamoto
Behind the Scenes
Video from the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival
Takeshi Kitano – Biography
The success of Hana-bi has confirmed Takeshi Kitano as a leading figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, Hana-bi won the Golden...
The first 1000 copies of each feature cardboard slipcases with new illustrated artwork by Marie Bergeron supported by Filmdoo’s Film Creativity Competition.
All 3 now available to pre-order at: http://amzn.to/20wQ1BA
Hana-bi – January 11th
30 minute documentary from the film’s original release
Interview with Takeshi Kitano from the film’s original release
New Audio commentary by film critic Mark Schilling
New trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTWtAE3ylY
Kikujiro – February 22nd
Jam Session – 90 minute documentary on Kikujiro directed by the award-winning Japanese director Makoto Shinozaki
Dolls – March 14th
Interviews with Takeshi Kitano, Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima & Yohij Yamamoto
Behind the Scenes
Video from the film’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival
Takeshi Kitano – Biography
The success of Hana-bi has confirmed Takeshi Kitano as a leading figure of international cinema. Among its numerous awards, Hana-bi won the Golden...
- 1/7/2016
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
I interviewed Takeshi Kitano, aka "Beat" Takeshi, in spring of 2001 regarding "Brother," his first film shot on American soil. Kitano is arguably, still, the biggest star in Japan, one whose influence crosscuts virtually all areas of media.
Memories: Kitano was surrounded by a small entourage of Japanese men, one of whom was his interpreter. He was formal and stoic in his interaction with me, but never unfriendly. As Sofia Coppola so deftly portrayed in "Lost in Translation," the English to Japanese process of translating can often be time-consuming for what amounts to seemingly little that's been said. Kitano rarely made eye contact or smiled, although when he would laugh softly, a crooked grin would form on one side of his mouth, the right. The other striking thing about Kitano's appearance was a tic, or slight tremor, that would appear on the left side of his face, the after-effect of a...
Memories: Kitano was surrounded by a small entourage of Japanese men, one of whom was his interpreter. He was formal and stoic in his interaction with me, but never unfriendly. As Sofia Coppola so deftly portrayed in "Lost in Translation," the English to Japanese process of translating can often be time-consuming for what amounts to seemingly little that's been said. Kitano rarely made eye contact or smiled, although when he would laugh softly, a crooked grin would form on one side of his mouth, the right. The other striking thing about Kitano's appearance was a tic, or slight tremor, that would appear on the left side of his face, the after-effect of a...
- 7/27/2015
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
From Muppet Treasure Island to Speed, we take a look at the 90s soundtracks that deserve another listen...
Ah, the 1990s. The decade that brought us The Lion King. Titanic. Quentin Tarantino. That wordless bathroom scene in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks. Duel of the Fates from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. In the Mood for Love.
It was a good 10 years for film music, no doubt.
But scratch the surface of 1991 through 1999 and there are tons of good scores ready to spring a surprise on your ears. Some were attached to sorely underrated movies, others were overshadowed by wildly successful ones, and some have simply been forgotten in the passage of time.
Here, in no particular order, are the top 25 underappreciated film soundtracks from the 1990s.
1. Chaplin - John Barry
Okay, let's start with a big one. Richard Attenborough. Robert Downey Jr. John Barry.
Ah, the 1990s. The decade that brought us The Lion King. Titanic. Quentin Tarantino. That wordless bathroom scene in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. Angelo Badalamenti's Twin Peaks. Duel of the Fates from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. In the Mood for Love.
It was a good 10 years for film music, no doubt.
But scratch the surface of 1991 through 1999 and there are tons of good scores ready to spring a surprise on your ears. Some were attached to sorely underrated movies, others were overshadowed by wildly successful ones, and some have simply been forgotten in the passage of time.
Here, in no particular order, are the top 25 underappreciated film soundtracks from the 1990s.
1. Chaplin - John Barry
Okay, let's start with a big one. Richard Attenborough. Robert Downey Jr. John Barry.
- 4/28/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Written and directed by Takeshi Kitano.
Starring Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tatsuya Mihashi,
Chieko Matsubara, Kyoko Fukada and Tsutomu Takeshige.
Running time: 113 min.
Dolls is a beautiful, clever, original stylization with just the right touch of subtle irony characteristic of other Kitano’s works.
Plot
There are three stories in the movie, all of them concerning love, always futile, tragic and pierced with the feeling of loneliness.
The central story is about a young couple, Matsumoto and Sawako. They are engaged to be married, but Matsumoto is persuaded by his parents to marry the daughter of his boss. As a dutiful son, the young man respects his parents’ request: they worked hard to get him through college and give him a good chance at life.
At the wedding Matsumoto is informed that Sawako attempted suicide. She survived, but lost her mind and is now in a semi-vegetative state. Matsumoto leaves...
Starring Miho Kanno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tatsuya Mihashi,
Chieko Matsubara, Kyoko Fukada and Tsutomu Takeshige.
Running time: 113 min.
Dolls is a beautiful, clever, original stylization with just the right touch of subtle irony characteristic of other Kitano’s works.
Plot
There are three stories in the movie, all of them concerning love, always futile, tragic and pierced with the feeling of loneliness.
The central story is about a young couple, Matsumoto and Sawako. They are engaged to be married, but Matsumoto is persuaded by his parents to marry the daughter of his boss. As a dutiful son, the young man respects his parents’ request: they worked hard to get him through college and give him a good chance at life.
At the wedding Matsumoto is informed that Sawako attempted suicide. She survived, but lost her mind and is now in a semi-vegetative state. Matsumoto leaves...
- 5/30/2012
- by AyunaMakwa
- AsianMoviePulse
What would happen if a director made a film about himself? And how would that film be affected if this director just happened to be a real multi-talented control freak? You don't need to look any further than Takeshis', Takeshi Kitano's (Hana-Bi, Kikujiro no Natsu, Achilles to Kame, Kantoku: Banzai!) ultimate cinematic experience where he finally takes the time to scrutinize his own self. The result is every bit as schizophrenic as you'd expect it to be.Takeshis' is a very difficult film to judge. A lot depends on how familiar you are with the work of Kitano (even outside the realm of cinema). Takeshi Kitano is a complex character, an ever-present force in the Japanese media who does everything from designing games to writing novels,...
- 5/18/2012
- Screen Anarchy
If you haven't seen any Takeshi Kitano (Kikujiro no Natsu, Achilles to Kame, Kantoku: Banzai!) films yet, Hana-bi is probably one of the best starting points in the man's oeuvre. It's one of his more accessible films, but it still goes a long way in highlighting his various skills. While still very unique and different from Western cinema, there are enough elements to pull in people not quite familiar with Asian film making.Back in 1997 Hana-bi earned Kitano a Golden Lion (Venice International Film Festival). Even though he needed the help of Shinya Tsukamoto to convince the jury of Hana-bi's qualities, the film went on to become Kitano's big break-through in the West. A break-through that was already imminent when he released Sonatine a couple...
- 4/26/2012
- Screen Anarchy
So far I've been ignoring the work of Takeshi Kitano (Achilles To Kame, Kantoku Banzai), but as I'm slowly revisiting my all-time favorite films there really is no way around Kitano's impressive body of work. So let us start with what is probably Kitano's most accessible film to date, Kikujiro no Natsu. A perfect cure for winter blues and the perfect entry film for people not acquainted with the signature style of Kitano.Kikujiro no Natsu follows all the praise Kitano received for Hana-bi, a film that won him the Golden Lion in Venice (helped by the support of Tsukamoto) and immediately launched his international career. Even though Kitano dabbled in different genres prior to releasing Hana-bi (A Scene At The Sea, Getting Any), to the...
- 2/8/2012
- Screen Anarchy
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.