The memories of liking Japanese movies go back to my childhood, when many Japanese TV sets established my first impressions of Japanese movies. "Flower Fairy", "Robocat", "Smart Yixiu", "Blood Doubt", "Volleyball Girl", etc., are all deeply infatuated. Later, I began to come into contact with Japanese movies, and I was impressed by "An Unfinished Game of Chess (China and Japan Co-production)", "Katayama Criminal Police (Series)", "Zi Sanshiro", and "Pursuit". . . . . The overall impression that these Japanese films give me is that they focus more on carving out the inner world of the characters. The shots do not have too many ups and downs, and they reflect the characters' characters in plainness. Audiences who don't like Japanese movies may have the impression of being dull. Indeed, the common characteristic of Japanese films is that they are slightly dull. The progress of the plot is relatively slow, but after overcoming this initial impression, I will gradually like this introverted style, which forms a sharp contrast with the lively and frizz-free movies of Hong Kong and Taiwan. And after I had more contact with Akira Kurosawa and Nagisa Oshima, my confidence and interest in Japanese movies increased greatly. It really deserves a distinctive stroke in world cinema.
As for Takeshi Kitano, this seems to be the second work I've seen. A year ago, I had seen a bit of a movie of his, which was the style of screaming and yelling at each other. The film critics called Kitano Takeshi's "sudden violence movie". In this regard, I think it is also a vivid description.
And this "Summer of Kikujiro", to me, is a very humanistic film. Its humour and breath of life overcome the technical blandness of the film, and instead of using dramatic plot conflicts to control the audience, Kitano returns emotions in a serene journey-like exile. When at the end, Zheng Nan burst into tears and ran to the city with the bag with a pair of wings on his back, we were deeply moved. It was indeed an emotional sublimation of the climax, which made me unable to calm down for a long time after watching this movie.
Summary of the story of "Kiujiro's Summer": The little boy Masao has no father since he was a child, his mother is far away from him, and he lives alone with his grandmother. When the holiday came, his few friends went on vacation, and Zheng Nan felt lonely. Just then, he received a letter with his mother's address. Zheng Nan embarked on the road to find his mother. Kikujiro (Take Kitano) is a "big boy", rough and grumpy, and his wife has a good sense of justice. At his wife's orders, Kijiro accompanied Masao to find his mother. They left the city.
During their travels this summer, they encountered some extremely ordinary people. The hearts of the two children gradually approached. When Zheng Nan found his mother, his mother had already reorganized the family. Masao feels sad. On the way back, Kijiro and some friends he met made various efforts to return to childhood in order to make Masao happy. And Kijiro also showed his warmth when he approached Masao, and he also went to see his mother. The mind is freed.
Zheng Nan finally raised his head, which had been bowed down, and revealed a sunny smile. The journey is over. The interesting friends I met on the way, the watermelon seller, the bald guy, and the fat guy said goodbye one by one, and Kijiro and Masao also returned to their respective lives at the end.
The film is far away from the city, and all the plot of the story is placed in the sky and sea far away from the city. It expresses a calm away from the city with beautiful natural scenery and vast countryside. Most of the scenes in the movie are just the backs of two children walking on the road. There is not too much dramatic conflict, but it is not visually boring. Takeshi Kitano uses succinct techniques in the almost panning realistic situation, through the actors' superb performances, vivid body language, concise and beautiful dialogues interspersed with gentle rhythms, unexpected and convincing endings, control. the audience's emotions. In this joy and sadness that everything flows slowly like water, the truth of life and the warmth of emotion are written. And the superb art of expressing the life of the little people of the era, which Takeshi Kitano loved only, gradually became clear and settled in that plain style.
The plot of this story broke the pattern of reunion I thought. As a beautiful woman, Zheng Nan's mother only appeared in two scenes. The first time was when Zheng Nan missed his mother. She appeared in the photo, young and beautiful. The second time was when the man looked at her and the child from a distance, and another man walked together tenderly, and then turned around and closed the door. Zheng Nan and his mother never made eye contact from beginning to end. This made the climax I thought was going back, and at this time, I seemed to understand what Kitano Takeshi was trying to explain to the audience: the significance of this film is not this, but the emotional journey on the road of finding. Takeshi Kitano's handling of this pivotal point is more convincing than I could have imagined. It has also continued the slightly sad tone to the end of the film. And it is this growing separation in the hearts of contemporary people that expresses the most authentic reality. And this sense of separation, Yu Kikujiro stared at his mother with a bit of uneasiness outside the window, and finally Masao turned around and ran to the city with a loud cry, completely dissipated in these two scenes. It's pretty much a subject that craves emotion but has to be alone. The film critics call it "Kitano-style blues", which is very appropriate, with a touch of lingering sadness. Introverted, lonely.
After finally seeing this theme, looking back at Takeshi Kitano's treatment of the space in which the entire film develops, it seems ingenious. This film of Takeshi Kitano does not cause visual fatigue in the bland storyline, but because there is a kind of poetry sung by the wind in the beautiful natural scenery. Kijiro and Masao were walking under the scorching sun with a lotus leaf on their heads. On the calm and vast sea, the appearance of the angel's bell also greatly enhanced the atmosphere, as if the sound of the sky and the sea was woven with the sound of wind chimes. A low-pitched tune. Gently follow the waves, hitting the protagonist and your inner soft spot. Through the rendering of the environment, the atmosphere has achieved the greatest degree of success in this film, and all of this, as a viewer, can only be felt in one's own heart. All verbal expressions appear trivial.
The other is the soundtrack of the movie. Transparent and clear. Revolving around the sea and sky, it is as exciting as the angel's bell in the film. Sometimes brisk, sometimes sad, all to the bottom of my heart. The melody is simple, but the repeated melody is like the famous song "Dedicated to Alice", and every time you listen to it, you can enjoy it. The harmony of violin(?) and piano is used in the soundtrack. Unforgettable.
The film is said to be a return to his childhood by Kitano Takeshi, who was rebellious since childhood and rarely had conversations with his father. In this film, he completely broke away from the so-called "sudden violence" characteristic of the past, and turned to this kind of unconventional method to create such a film. In my opinion, its moving At the heart of the film is still a deeply emotional and technically compelling film. It seems that emotion, the core of all artistic expression, will bring lasting power to a film. As the two protagonists, Masao and Kikujiro, their performances in the film are also applauded. The close-up of Kitano Takeshi's paralyzed expression on one side of his face, and the constantly shaking body movements of the potbellied body, just these details attract the audience. The eyeballs, and to a large extent echo the humorous formation of the language, so that this film without a dramatic plot is not monotonous. And the young actor who plays the male lead will also be a child who is lonely and deeply hurt, but finally opens up his smile, and carves it to life.
This work has been called from "sudden violence" to "gentle return". It fully reflects Kitano Takeshi's courage to break his own frame. It also shows his mastery and unconventional approach to film language. As he said, the actor he chose to play the real male "is a child who is the least like today. If he gradually makes people feel cute in the film, he will be satisfied." And this has been completely done.
I am amazed at the harmony in the various aspects of this film. Music, photography, script, actors. . . Both present a very comfortable feeling of stability. It turned out that this film was produced again by the "Kitano Military Corps". Its behind-the-scenes technical handling and unconventional innovation make for a tender film.
The amazing "Summer of Kijiro". I think that wonderful sound should be in my music collection.
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