Kikujiro (Subtitled) (DVD)

...always badgering her drunk-looking husband Kikujiro (Beat's part) badgers him into taking the boy to see his mother. Of course the irresponsible guy delays things by a couple of days whilst he gambles away the boy's savings until they finally get going. At this point the film comes into its own and becomes basically a road movie. The point of the mission is sometimes forgotten as Beat takes over and changes from being a useless petty thug of a layabout ...
...turns to protectiveness and a desire to make the boy happy. The journey becomes one long series of episodes where Beat uses his surroundings and the people they meet to this end.

Does the boy get to his mother? That is something for you to discover from seeing the film. Suffice to say that there is drama as well as comedy in this movie, although the tone is gently upbeat.

The acting is of a uniformly high standard. Kitano ... more

Takeshi "Beat" Kitano is a truly remarkable character. Actor, comedian, musician, writer, director…this renaissance man bestrides the contemporary Japanese cinema like a veritable Godzilla. Having started his entertainment career as a stand-up comic in an act called "The Two Beats" - hence his artistic name - he has done everything in film and on top of this is a skilled cartoonist, drummer and occasionally plays baseball for the team he sponsors.

After some bit parts he directed and starred in "Violent Cop" a sort of Japanese Dirty Harry and his career as an actor/director hasn't looked back since. His international profile begun "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" and he has appeared in other films such as "Johnny Mnemonic".

"Kikujiro" was released in 1999. It was a delicate time in Beat's career as his previous film Hana-Bi (Fireworks) had won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and it was important not to be seen by the international film community as a one-hit wonder.

From the moment the pervasively catchy piano theme tinkles onto the screen you know this is going to be a good film. The film starts with school breaking up for the summer holidays and it appears an idyllic scene from a Japanese cartoon or anime. Little boys running around happily in clean, safe and pretty surroundings.

The metaphorical darkness soon sets in though. We learn that the young protagonist Masuro (played with great dignity by 9 year-old Yusuke Sekiguchi) is looked after by his granny, his mother works in another city and never comes to see him whilst he does not even know the identity of his father. This makes Masuro, a melancholy and solitary little boy, prone to being picked on and rather innocent.

He determines to go and see his mother and receives help from an unsuspected quarter. A youngish, and rather sluttish former neighbour (Kayoko Kishimoto) - always badgering her drunk-looking husband Kikujiro (Beat's part) badgers him into taking the boy to see his mother. Of course the irresponsible guy delays things by a couple of days whilst he gambles away the boy's savings until they finally get going. At this point the film comes into its own and becomes basically a road movie. The point of the mission is sometimes forgotten as Beat takes over and changes from being a useless petty thug of a layabout to begin developing feelings towards the boy. His natural selfishness turns to protectiveness and a desire to make the boy happy. The journey becomes one long series of episodes where Beat uses his surroundings and the people they meet to this end.

Does the boy get to his mother? That is something for you to discover from seeing the film. Suffice to say that there is drama as well as comedy in this movie, although the tone is gently upbeat.

The acting is of a uniformly high standard. Kitano is his customary mixture of menace and horseplay - a unique blend of silent hard man and exuberant clown in a style which he has almost trademarked as his own. Think of a composite of Robert Mitchum and Jim Carrey and you get some idea - although his silliness is never manic in the way Carrey's can be. The boy acts beyond his age and the other characters fit in nicely around them.

Is there an element of biography or even autobiography here? I do not know enough to comment authoritatively but it is a fact that Beat's father was called Kikujiro. His father also had a reputation as an alcoholic and gambler who beat up his wife and kids and eventually left them. Make of that what you will but I suspect that behind the fiction of the screenplay there is a painful memory of childhood loss and parental abandonment.

I will be plain. It is not his best film, that in my mind is the magnificent, noir yet visually compelling Hana-Bi. But this is nevertheless an entertaining, heart-warmimg and extremely well shot, directed and acted film. Very European in a way, and will certainly appeal to lovers of contemporary French and Russian cinema. It was officially selected by both the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. Watch it if you can.

The dvd I bought has no extras but can be purchased on the net for a best price of £5.93, plus postage, from dotcomdvd.com
 

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