Kikujiro (1999)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Don't listen to the negative reviews

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Blistering performances.

Viewed on DVD. Cinematography/lighting = five (5) stars; score = five (5) stars. Director Takeshi Kitano's one-man show (he is also the star, script writer, editor, and who knows what else!) is both entertaining and dull with, unfortunately, more of the latter than the former. Kitano's slapstick/ sentimental tale involves two children: one is on summer vacation from grade school; the other is middle age on permanent vacation from being an adult. The Director often strives for humor based on silliness which mostly falls flat. Many scenes are too long due to Kitano's leisurely-paced direction and his fondness for keeping the camera running long after the action has left the frame (as well as sometimes starting the camera before the action moves into the frame). Child actor Yusuke Sekiguchi's mugging is overly done starting with the film's long opening shot. Dream/nightmare sequences meant to punch things up come across, uncomfortably, as simply silly dancing inserts. Inter-scene continuity is problematic, as Kitano the actor produces props and clothing changes out of thin air! Perhaps the most entertaining and amusing scenes involve a series of schemes on a back country road to flag down passing vehicles and snag a free ride (the Director is channeling the classic IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)) with the best hitchhiking technique being a purely Japanese one: just ask very politely for a ride! Cinematography/lighting are fine. Street scenes in a residential section of Tokyo not fire bombed during WWII are arguable the best of the exterior shots. Subtitles are okay. Score's major theme is imaginative, but its variations lack creativity and are overly redundant. Enjoyable, but don't expect too much. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

The director/star/editor of "Kikujiro" (Takeshi Kitano) began with stage comedy, then became known for his hyper-violent (yet hypnotically artistic) gangster films, and is now known as a modern master of art cinema. As the story goes, some time in the late 1990s Kitano suffered a near-death motorcycle accident, and immediately following it he made this film... which many fans call his best.His style is very photographic, meaning each shot is composed carefully like something you'd see on the wall of an art gallery. As such, he doesn't rely too heavily on motion or dialogue, and the effect can be both powerful and hilarious. If "a picture is worth a 1000 words", Takeshi Kitano milks every last syllable."Kikujiro" is a beautifully wicked road movie about a cute little kid looking for his momma. What gives it an edge is the fact that the kid gets paired up with the most unlikely "guardian" the world has ever known. Takeshi Kitano plays the guardian: a loud-mouthed, selfish, good-for-nothing troublemaker who decides to exploit the kid for all he's worth. You learn quickly that this is NOT a cutesy Disney flick. Instead, it's an edgy, slightly dark, yet thoroughly charming story about innocence in a not-so-innocent world. I could go on for ages about the clever symbolism and poetic themes, the complexity of Takeshi Kitano's character, the power of the film's final scene... but that's for you to figure out when you watch it, and on your 2nd, 3rd or 4th watch (I've seen this movie half a dozen times myself, and I can't wait to see it again).The comedy is very quirky, and not everyone will get it. But if you do, you'll be howling in the aisles. It's somewhat surreal, and most of the humor stems from the idea that Kitano's character is so preposterous, and his actions so unrealistic, that you can't help but say WTF. It's even funnier if you realize that Japanese society is quite conservative, and the situations depicted in the movie would be downright scandalous. In that respect it could almost be classed as a surrealist comedy, alongside "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" movies. This may be a stretch, but I'd also compare it to the mockumentary masterpiece "This is Spinal Tap", or some of the other great Christopher Guest films.One last thing I have to mention: The musical score is AMAZING. I've never heard an original score fit a film so perfectly as this. Composed by the great Joe Hisaishi, master of a thousand styles, the music for "Kikujiro" is simple, childlike and majestic at the same time. It's even more uplifting than the "Amelie" soundtrack.The music, the photography, the gags and the story make this one of my favorite films of all time... definitely one I keep coming back to whenever I need a boost.

Maybe the subject of the movie tells us a lot about Kitano himself, as a person, not only as a director, when he is reaching middle - age and starts to become really endeared by children, and by his past. While the accomplished (in 1999) director grants us with wonderful cinematography (and Acting), the after taste of the movie feels like a successive series of clown tricks and feels very loooooooooongZZZZzzz. Definitely not one of his greatest movies. TK is much better than that, and people should be referred to Hana-bi or violent cop, as starters. However, Kukijiro is of a great documentary interest to see the acting technique of Kitano. Rarely seen being so upfrontly comic.

If it wasn't for the perverted old man and the language, this would probably be a really good children's movie. Who knows, maybe it's intended to be...Anyway, little Masao lives with his grandmother and has never met his parents: his father is dead and his mother ran away. He knows where his mother lives, however, and wants to go visit her over the Summer, so his kindly neighbor conscripts her profligate husband to take him. "Mister", as Masao calls him, doesn't make the ideal companion with his absurd behavior and his verbal abuse, but they go off to adventure anyways and learn to really connect with each other.The power this film has lies mostly in its contemplative approach. It's very humorous and isn't really slow, but the camera does take the time to linger on locales, faces, and characters. For a few odd parts here and there, it's still really innocent and it seems to show that most people are kind-natured at heart, even when they project an aura of toughness and abusiveness. An interesting aside to analyze that theme would be the carnival scene, where people entrusted with family entertainment turn out to be violent cheaters, whereas even the heavy-metal biker folk are more than willing to go out of their way to help Masao.The film itself is from Masao's perspective, as a childhood's slightly photographic memory comes into play, mixed a lot with colorful imagination. The humor is the best part, as it is at times really simple but holds itself up well. There's a lot to enjoy in this film.--PolarisDiB