Ikinai

This fascinating first feature from Takeshi Kitano's regular first assistant shares certain traits with the master's movies: stylish camerawork, deadpan black comedy, and a concern with the value of life and how best to live it. Nine men - all in debt - embark on a private coach tour which will end in a fatal crash, thus ensuring insurance payouts to creditors and dependants. Unfortunately, just before the bus starts off, they are joined by a young woman determined to make use of her now deranged uncle's ticket. The droll humour gradually yields to a darker, more contemplative and affecting mood, without sacrificing any of the film's quirky originality. An engrossing debut.