Takeshi Kitano is one of the most fascinating characters on the modern cinematic landscape. He has always been creating interesting movies, but at the beginning of his career, he was in danger of being stuck in a rut of only creating violent crime films. This is perhaps due to the fact that his debut directorial effort was really... Well, a violent crime film, Violent Cop. He sort of stumbled onto that job, taking over the reins as director when the initial director dropped out. Next time you want to download internet movies, give it a viewing.
Kikujiro marks a completely different direction for Takeshi Kitano. Where his earlier films were typically violent gangster flicks, this one is sweet, sentimental, and focused on the concepts of belonging, family, and acceptance. It's very touching, very upbeat and positive, and will certainly leave you with a smile on your face, if not a tear in your eye.
Kitano's career has had a lot of twists and turns. He began as an emcee of a nightclub. When the comedian there got sick, he took over as comic for the night, and he was a huge star on the comedy scene for a number of years.
He went on to become a popular TV host, and this got him another job as a video game designer. He created a game called Takeshi's Challenge for the NES. The game began with a title card reading "WARNING: This game was created by a man who hates video games." We don't know if he hates video games, but this game hated the player. It included challenges such as holding a single button for several hours straight, a horizontal scrolling shooting game where you cannot hit the up button, so you can only dodge enemies by moving down, and a last boss who took more than one hundred thousand hits to kill.
Kitano's strange sense of humor really comes through in everything he does, and Kikujiro is no exception. The film follows an old man, played by Kitano, and a young boy as they journey across the country to find the boy's mother. Along the way, the old man spends all their money on gambling, thinking that the kid can predict the winning horse after a lucky streak.
He winds up begging for food, and giving the boy half of it before eating his own half out of sight of the child. This way it looks like he's going without for the child's sake, and it's very touching that he would lie to earn the boy's love and respect, if a little unethical.
The movie really is sweet and touching, particularly a dream sequence later on where the boy reflects upon games he has played with Kikujiro and their friends. The two create their own family with the two of them and the goofy characters they meet on their travels.
It is, certainly, one of Kitano's best. Sonatine is the film he's really known for in the US, but Kikujiro is one of his many crowning achievements.
Kikujiro marks a completely different direction for Takeshi Kitano. Where his earlier films were typically violent gangster flicks, this one is sweet, sentimental, and focused on the concepts of belonging, family, and acceptance. It's very touching, very upbeat and positive, and will certainly leave you with a smile on your face, if not a tear in your eye.
Kitano's career has had a lot of twists and turns. He began as an emcee of a nightclub. When the comedian there got sick, he took over as comic for the night, and he was a huge star on the comedy scene for a number of years.
He went on to become a popular TV host, and this got him another job as a video game designer. He created a game called Takeshi's Challenge for the NES. The game began with a title card reading "WARNING: This game was created by a man who hates video games." We don't know if he hates video games, but this game hated the player. It included challenges such as holding a single button for several hours straight, a horizontal scrolling shooting game where you cannot hit the up button, so you can only dodge enemies by moving down, and a last boss who took more than one hundred thousand hits to kill.
Kitano's strange sense of humor really comes through in everything he does, and Kikujiro is no exception. The film follows an old man, played by Kitano, and a young boy as they journey across the country to find the boy's mother. Along the way, the old man spends all their money on gambling, thinking that the kid can predict the winning horse after a lucky streak.
He winds up begging for food, and giving the boy half of it before eating his own half out of sight of the child. This way it looks like he's going without for the child's sake, and it's very touching that he would lie to earn the boy's love and respect, if a little unethical.
The movie really is sweet and touching, particularly a dream sequence later on where the boy reflects upon games he has played with Kikujiro and their friends. The two create their own family with the two of them and the goofy characters they meet on their travels.
It is, certainly, one of Kitano's best. Sonatine is the film he's really known for in the US, but Kikujiro is one of his many crowning achievements.
About the Author:
A micro fibre cloth is useful for cleaning dust off high-gloss finish pianos. Movies In The Internet Specific adjustments are used to offset these distortions. The big attraction to Reality TV is the audience involvement.
No comments:
Post a Comment