Hana-bi

English title: Fireworks

Also known as: Feux d’artifice

Genre: police drama 

With: Takeshi Kitano (Yoshitaka Nishi), Kayoko Kishimoto (his wife), Ren Osugi (Horibe), Susumu Terajima (Nakamura), Tetsu Watanabe (the Scrap Yard Owner), Hakuryû (the Yakuza Hitman), Yasuei Yakushiji (a Criminal), Tarô Itsumi (Kudo), Ken'ichi Yajima (the Doctor), Makoto Ashikawa (Tanaka), Yûko Daike (Tanaka’s widow)

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Screenplay: Takeshi Kitano

Release: 1997

Studio: Bandai Visual Company, TV Tokyo, Tokyo FM, Office Kitano

Rating: 18A

MBiS score: 8.8/10  

 

Brutal but Considerate

 

QuickView 

Story-line: life is failing Yoshitaka Nishi, a veteran policeman who has recently left the force. Having lost a little daughter and seen a colleague die in the line of duty, he now has to deal with his wife’s terminal illness and his best friend’s career-ending injury. Moreover, he owes money to a mob operative. What keeps him going in spite of all this? I’d say toughness… and he has plenty of that.

Pluses: tremendous acting by Takeshi Kitano as the charismatic, taciturn and towering Nishi, an able cast around him, expert direction, a sketchy, clinical and disassembled screenplay, gorgeous cinematography, high-level production values and a moving musical score.

Minuses: be aware that this meditative film is interspersed with brief but startling scenes of savagery. As for the non-linear structure of the narrative, which may confuse some viewers, the story-line above gives you enough info to get you on your way.

Comments: HANA-BI, which alternates between sheer beauty and unbridled mayhem, bears Takeshi Kitano’s mark from beginning to end. As lead actor, director, screenwriter, editor and supplier of splendid artwork, Kitano has accomplished what few can ever hope for on film: an abstract, aesthetic and enigmatic tour de force. Here’s to another gem from international cinema, ceaselessly amazing and challenging.

  

MBiS 

© 2023 – All rights reserved