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Kikujiro (1998)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

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From Time Out Film Guide

Kitano's violence-free 'road movie' (inspired by The Wizard of Oz, he says) is his most idiosyncratic film yet. He plays Kikujiro, a gone-to-seed yakuza who reluctantly looks after a small boy during summer vacation. On impulse they set off across country (initially in a stolen taxi) in search of the kid's absent mother. Strange things happen on the road, including odd dreams and encounters with punks, bikers, and a paedophile; Takeshi's ex-partner 'Beat' Kiyoshi pops up as a man at a bus stop. But there's no moral turning point; it's not a rite-of-passage story. The episodes are more like chapters from a child's picture book: memories-to-be in the making. Shot and cut in the distinctive Kitano style, the film has great spontaneity. The comedy elements bring the author's two personae, writer/director Takeshi Kitano and TV comedian 'Beat' Takeshi, closer together than ever before.

Author: TR 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Producer: Masayuki Mori, Takio Yoshida

Cast: Yusuke Sekiguchi, 'Beat' Takeshi, Kayoko Kishimoto, Akaji Maro, Great Gidayu full cast

Duration: 121 mins


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