Kikujiro (DVD)

Takeshi Kitano has created several tones/characteristics/personae for his work in Japanese television and for the considerably more arty and introspective World Cinema forum; The Western world know him for his directorial workmanship and acting (under the title of Beat Takeshi), in such films as Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Hana-Bi, as well as for the stony and savage Sergeant Ham in '83's Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, while his Japanese audience are rather more fond of his role as a television and stand-up comedian. While in waiting for another slice of Beat in Battle Royale, I stumbled upon this little lost treasure at my local video shop. Now, ...

"Beat" Takeshi Kitano's latest film, 'Kikujiro' is a comedy film, and arguably his best. He's best known in Japan for apperaring in comedy television shows, but over here, he's probably best known for his work on Yakuza-based drama films - such as 'Boiling Point' and 'Violent Cop'. He has directed and starred in one other comedy film, the insane 'Getting Any?', which is very rarely shown outside Japan. In this film, Takeshi plays a hen-pecked husband, who reluctantly agrees to accompany a young boy on a quest to find the mother he's never met. It's a stunningly funny road movie, with the characters ...