Fireworks

I saw this on a big screen in 2016, when a "moving picture" means the camera moves. Most of the time the camera sat still and the cast acted in front of it as if on a stage. Boring! Second, the director is the lead actor. "Actor" in quotes: you see everything he has to offer in the first 10 seconds. Third, the paintings are by the director. At times it's as if we're being shown a gallery of his paintings, which, as the actor in the film who "creates" them says, "Colorful, but amateur." Amateur indeed. Fourth, the pacing of the film at times felt like watching paint try--and in some scenes that about what we did--watch the paint dry. Fifth, the music becomes insipid, like something from "Peyton Place" with Lana Turner. Lastly, I don't think this is a spoiler; it's a comment on the lead character, not the plot. The lead character is a violent thug; that's who he is; and, when he has to encounter his own crises, he's an empty and helpless as he is toward others. As a result, I had absolutely no sympathy toward him; I felt detached. I was tempted to walk out after 30 minutes, and again after 60. The night fresh air would be have far more worthwhile.

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Moviecut—Fireworks

Half of the movie is spent on the childish drawing of a tertiary character that wasn't characterized, is not important to the so called plot and we don't care about! Takeshi's acting is wooden, lifeless, emotionless, and the same can be said of his relationship with his wife that he's supposed to love and really (no seriously) care about!. The plot is non-existent, the movie is bizarrely edited so that you can't tell what's happening now and what is a flashback. The main character's occupation is uncertain throughout and he's always followed by some secondary characters everywhere he goes for unexplained reasons. My biggest gripe is that this movie suffers horribly from "tell don't show"! Characters blatantly spout exposition at each other and it seems very amateurish! We find out that yakuza toughs are part of yakuza because they say "You know how we yakuza are", we find out that a guy's wife and daughter have left him because he says that to a different character with a blank, talent-less face when that character presumably ALREADY KNEW that and he's only talking for the benefit of the audience! There are numerous scenes where nothing happens for a long time, for no reason. To give 2 examples, we stare for 20% of the movie at Takeshi's blank, un-moving face and at the end we're treated to a 5 minutes scene where a girl is trying to fly a kite. Just her, running back and forth with some very exciting music in the background! In conclusion, I have NEVER seen such levels of not understanding basic film making techniques and amateurism. Safe to say I won't watch any of the director's other movies!

An interesting drama about an agent who takes some time off to spend with his dying wife, and ends up going on a crime spree. The writer/director/star takes a great approach in telling a good story from an emotional and understated angle, but the execution does not quite work. Many scenes drip with sentimentality to the point that they become laughable. Most of the lovey-giddy scenes involving his wife come off as snippets from Mentos commercials. A sub-plot involving a co-worker who gets shot in his place (and paralyzed) then takes up painting peaceful compositions, simply isn't interesting. We are never allowed to connect with his character; and we only know his situation by off-handed inferences of his wife leaving him. The director is quite obsessed with his paintings that grow tiresome all too quickly.

If Kitano wanted to bore to death the audience, well he succeeded! This movie lasts about 1 hour and 40 min but it seems 8 hours... and nothing happens. No one even speaks (maybe in Japan they have already discovered telephaty...). Another low point is the acting. We have 2 or 3 good actors, the others are totally amateur-actors, in certain scene is really embarassing to view these poor japanese guys who doesn't know where they have to watch... Also: the story (the violent cop who have a tender side) is old, I have seen probably ten movies with this plot: more originality please! Final note: watching this movie you think that in Japan, mafia people (Jacuza) is totally dumb, there are at least 5 scenes where they seem a bunch of retarded people.

Takeshi Kitano's 'Hana-Bi' is something of an oddity. True to his previous efforts as director, the film contains its fair share of shockingly-graphic violence, and yet at its heart lies a touching tale of love, loyalty and devotion. For the entire running time, Kitano (who, aside from directing, also wrote and starred in the film) treads a perilously fine line between the two thematic extremes; it is an intricate balancing act that, if attempted by a less-talented filmmaker, might very possibly have turned into a complete cinematic disaster. Nevertheless, the director manages to pinpoint this perfect centre of balance, and the clash of beauty and violence combines to create a jarring amalgamation of conflicting emotional responses. We, as the audience, as simultaneously repulsed and entranced; as a whole, 'Hana-bi' is one of the most beautiful film experiences of the last decade or so. The title of the film itself acknowledges these opposing visual styles. Whilst the Japanese word 'Hanabi' translates to 'Fireworks' (the title under which it was released in the United States), the addition of the hyphen to the title ('Hana-bi') emphasises two individual components of the word, which translate respectively into "Fire" and "Flower," the collision of destruction and beauty/renewal. Much of the film concerns a cop named Yoshitaka Nishi (Kitano), who is forced to retire after a shooting on the job leaves his partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), paralysed, alone and confined to a wheelchair. All the while, Nishi is still coming to terms with the impending loss of his wife, Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), who is slowly dying from leukemia. As any grieving husband might do in such a situation, Nishi decides to quietly rob a bank, and he then uses most of the proceeds to fund a final loving family holiday for his ailing partner. The scenes between Nishi and his wife are among the most touching I've ever witnessed. Miyuki has only two lines in the entire film, and so the couple spend most of their time in complete silence and quiet reflection, and yet you can truly sense the affection that they both have for each other. Their love is completely unspoken, and this makes it all the more touching when Miyuki does finally speak. Another touching character is Horibe, the loyal police force partner whose crippling injury leaves him alone and depressed. After attempting suicide, Horibe receives painting materials in the mail, and he commits his emotions to canvas, finally uncovering a reason for his continued existence (importantly, the artwork we see in the film was actually created by Kitano in 1994, after a near-fatal motorcycle accident). The film's phenomenally moving soundtrack was composed by renowned Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, in his fourth collaboration with the director. There are very few negative criticisms that can be said of 'Hana-bi.' One possible item is that the film's unusual flashback structure made some plot-points difficult to follow, and I'm still unsure of which cop's lonesome widow Nishi was in the habit of visiting. However, that's the only critique that springs straight to mind. All in all, 'Hana-bi' is a gloriously assorted blend of violence, love and gentle humour, and a first viewing is not likely to be forgotten in a hurry.

Takeshi Kitano is great as always, and this movie is the true masterpiece of a genius. It truly has everything a masterpiece needs - excellent actors (Susumu Terajima,Ren Osugi and Takeshi Kitano himself - the usual "Kitano crew"), perfect directing, awesome plot and script, and a unique atmosphere, which is created by a mix of sorrow and joy, drama and humor , violence and love, which properly balanced create this great movie. His movie is realistic and shows us one of a million ways a man can honorably end his life. It doesn't suggests or judges anything, it just draws a picture so beautiful and real, that you can only admire it. 10/10.

There are two challenges in building a life with the help of art. The first challenge is the matter of finding good art, sorting it out from background noise. Good art is a communication from a transcendent place through a person or group with the skills to deliver it coherently. This is rare enough. All good craftsmen think they are artists and sell themselves that way. This film is a work of art. Yes, quirky. Yes, some elements are clumsy. He has some paintings he wants us to see, so he shoehorns in a suicidal painter. He needs a suicidal painter, so he... But we tolerate these misfits because the nature of the story follows the Japanese gangster movie convention of being a bunch of borrowed quotes from elsewhere. Borrowing these from Takeshi's artistic world is as fair as from the pop vocabulary. All these projects reference the outside. So this is good art. It resonates. I recommend you look at it. But the second challenge with art is deciding how to relate to it, to use it to build your mind, to work and extend your imagination. You are what you eat artistically. I cannot eat this. No, it is not the violence. Violence in film is merely cinematic tension, to be used like smoke. It is the world that matters. Art is a gateway to a world and you have to be disposed to the target: can you use it? Will it help? What's wrong here is that this the flip side of noir. Noir defines a world of random pain, animated by some conspiracy between the viewer and a disembodied fate. But it comes from an intent of humorous exploration, capricious hazard but hazard for mischief, not deliberate pain. Its the deliberate pain we get here, the incessant grinding of the human spirit, and incidentally some valiant tolerance, but only incidentally. If I clove this into my mind, I would be another half step closer to suicide myself. So watch it... from a distance. Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.