Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageKikujiro (1998)
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Movie review
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
User reviews of this film
-
- jeremykyle said...
- Posted on Jan 24 2010 01:44 A beautiful film. Artfully unsentimental and anti-transcendental yet touching and true. The film reflects an uncomfortable truth about humanity; we cannot be placed in boxes. The people we would rather hate are not monsters. They are just broken. But somewhere still exists that glorious illusion of humanity. There is no life changing resolution or cliché redemption to be found in Kikujiro, just a tale of a hardened man who finds that there is still something soft within.
- Report as inappropriate
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
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now