Kikujiro

nachos

Saw this on saturday night. Starring, directed by (and I think edited) the great Beat Takeshi.
Story concerns a young boy Masao who goes in search of his long-lost mother with Kikujiro(Kitano).
Thought it was a fantastic film, well acted, well scripted, well directed film with a fantastic score. Some moments of hilarity and some that are totally heart-wrenching

the bit where Masao saw his mother with a new family almost had me in tears

As i say i can't recommend this highly enough, I really loved it!

Anyone else see this, what did you think?

Waltons

Yeah, I watched it too. Thoroughly enjoyed it especially, as you mentioned, the score. Fit very will with the film.
Brilliantly directed and acted and the right mix of emotional moments as well as complete and utter hilarity such as

trying to burst the car's tyre to get it to stop

. Currently trying to look for it on DVD!

dearg_doom

I didn't know it was on telly at the weekend, what channel?

Great film, and an excellent director, I don't think he's made a bad film!

nachos

was on rte2 at 2.25 in the morning, not the most accessible time! so much more of his stuff that i want to see. he was great in Battle Royale and Zatoichi.

can get on dvd here . bit expensive though

Waltons

I can't believe I forgot to check play! Cheers nachos. Not a terrible price considering it's around £23 on Amazon

Karl Hungus

The Kikujiro DVD has been stuck in limbo for about 2 years now, it kept getting the release date knocked back, and now it's just been "Not Currently Available" since last june. I've been waiting for the film for ages now, being a big fan of Kitano, so I've been entirely disheartened with the DVD.

Save yourself the bother, and import one.

Cianan2

I watched it this morning, what a great film. I love Takeshi, he is a legend. If only there were more English or Americans who could make movies as good as him....

Oh, out of curiosity, has anybody else noticed the eye twitch thing he has? His left eye is blinking constantly. I noticed it in Battle Royale, and in this too....

Karl Hungus

Cianan2 wrote:

Oh, out of curiosity, has anybody else noticed the eye twitch thing he has? His left eye is blinking constantly. I noticed it in Battle Royale, and in this too....

Yeah, that's because he was nearly kicked in a motercycle crash. His face was literally destroyed, he had to have extensive surgery and he's had that twitch ever since. I've seen a documentary, where there was a clip of a press conference after he had the accident, and christ, his face was obliterated entirely, one side was completely limp, and he could barely speak at all. Poor chap.

Cianan2

Well, that clears that query. Thanks Karl. At least it didnt affect his brilliant little brain(well, as far as movies go, anyway!)

Karl Hungus

The Documentary was on the Brother DVD, and it's well worth a look if you're a fan of Kitano, so I recommend it. And the film Brother isn't half bad either.

D-Generate

Brother is a pretty kick ass film. Cheap enough on Play last time I checked too.
He has a limp also after the motorcycle accident.
His twitch wasn't evident in Zatoichi though.

IDM

Karl Hungus wrote:

Yeah, that's because he was nearly kicked in a motercycle crash. His face was literally destroyed, he had to have extensive surgery and he's had that twitch ever since. I've seen a documentary, where there was a clip of a press conference after he had the accident, and christ, his face was obliterated entirely, one side was completely limp, and he could barely speak at all. Poor chap.

Interesting addition: For those of you who've seen Hana-Bi (Fireworks) ... All the vibrant paintings supposedly done by the character Horibe were actually painted by Kitano while he was recovering from his accident ! So he's actually a talented artist as well !

Cianan2

Thanks for the recommendations, guys. Ill be sure to check these films out. Any links to other good Takeshi(or people like him)'s films?

Karl Hungus

Well, if you've not looked at it yet, take a peek at his imdb profile, which is extremely handy. www.kitanotakeshi.com is also an excellent website, and a great resource. As for anyone like him, well there's just no such thing.