The beginning of the movie shows the irritability and cruelty of the underworld, who are willing to seek money and kill, and fight intrigue. They have no expressions on their faces in the face of fighting, and they talk and laugh as usual. Although such a character is cool, it cannot be liked by the audience, and even the protagonist himself said that he wanted to retire.
As the story progressed, Kitano and his party took shelter at the beach. In the boring situation, they found their innocence like children, playing various strange and childish games such as sumo and fireworks. Compared with the previous coldness, this joyful plot is a bit off the line. The indifferent face that has been tight in the rivers and lakes for a long time also showed more expressions under the blowing of the sea breeze. For example, in the early days, Terajima Jin was unsmiling and shouted at the improper behavior of his companions; but when he got to the beach, he became mingled with the boss, and he gradually forgot his role and work while he was overjoyed.
This strong contrast deeply shows the complexity of people. Gangster characters are not like the stereotypes created in previous movies, but flesh and blood. Only such characters can truly enter the hearts of the audience, allowing people to recognize and sympathize. But the movie is a gangster movie after all, so the short happy time ends, and the gangsters return to the days of licking blood. At this time, thinking of the retirement idea that Takeshi Kitano said at the beginning, we can know that ending this vacation is so reluctant, and facing the cold world again is so pessimistic.
Unlike "Fireworks", the protagonist has not completely gone to ruin. Therefore, the final arrangement of the protagonist's suicide in the movie still feels abrupt. After all, he has had a good vacation, and his desire to survive should be even stronger, and should not be so desperate. Perhaps it can only be attributed to Kitano's own obsession with self-destruction and death. But this kind of treatment also happens to have another meaning: let the movie return to the track of traditional gangster movies, and let the characters die in the damned place.
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