Directed by Takeshi Kitano
Starring-Beat Takeshi
We here at Brain Enema Cinema are fans of the great Japanese director Takeshi Kitano. He started out in comedy but is best known these days for his violent gangster dramas. His directing style is very unique because while some very brutal things are presented he still manages to inject emotion into things. His films are usually about brooding, tired, thoughtful men at a cross roads of their life. After the success of Fireworks Kitano was afraid of being typecast so he surprised everyone by making Kikujiro, a sensitive, touching, comedy co-starring a small child.
Kitano stars as a small time crook, more of a lazy slackass than anything, who gets stuck with taking a small boy named Maseo across country to meet his mother. Maseo is a thoughtful, sensitive little boy. Kitano describes him after their first meeting as "gloomy." Maseo is troubled because he is raised by his grandmother. He is told that his father died just after he was born and his mother had to leave to go to work. Summer vacation begins for Maseo and he is lonely and bored. All his friends are away on holidays with their families. He finds a picture of his mother and decides to set out to meet her. He runs into an old friend of the family who decides to help him by giving him some money and sending her husband along to watch over him. Kitano,who throughout the film is simply referred to as Mister,immediately takes Maseo to the track and gambles away all his travelling money. Kitano is very abrasive and rude to pretty much everybody he meets. He is about as subtle as a kick to the balls and manages to screw up just about everything. When Maseo is nearly molested by a perv as a result of his carelessness Kitano decided to get serious about taking the kid to see his mother. They hitch hike across the country getting into one disaster after another while making a few friends(and enemies) along the way.
Kitano got his start in comedy and he shines in Kikujiro. One memorable exchange at a bus stop features his old comedy partner Beat Kiyoshi. Kitano has an amazingly beautiful directing style. He uses space and the natural beauty of Japan like no other. The only complaint about the movie I have is that it drags on a bit towards the end. It drags on for a reason but a lot of Western viewers are going to wonder whats the point. We are used to a set up, the journey, achieving the goal, the end.Kikujiro is more like the set up, the journey, achieving the goal.some more journey, a visit to a fair, hang out at the beach a while, then more journey, then the end. If you are unfamiliar with Kitano's work do yourself a favor and start looking...you won't regret it.
Rating-4 Brains
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