Fairy tales into reality

Garry 2022-03-21 09:02:51

To be honest, I don't see much of Kitano Takeshi's work. The first one I watched was "The Doll" with experimental colors. Cruelty with distinct beauty. The second is the autobiographical "Bad Boy's Sky". A life and youth that is convinced by reality. The third is "That Summer, the Tranquil Sea". Silent dreams and joy. Then there are two "Battle Royale" produced by him. In my light and shadow experience, Hou Hsiao-hsien is simple; Iwai is pure beauty; Wong Kar-wai is tangled; Kieslowski is sublime; Angelopoulos is philosophical; Soderbergh is esoteric ...but what about Takeshi Kitano? It's hard to define what kind of director he is. This is Kitano Takeshi's strength (many people say he is violent, I don't think so). I change my mind at any time and shoot various types of films. It is with such an exploration mentality that every time I look at his works, there is a kind of expectation and surprise in it. Constantly guessing, constantly surprising. He does not stick to any form and plot.

"Summer of Kikujiro" is the most recent one. A weekend night alone. High-rise on the 16th floor. Empty living room. The starry night in the city was brilliant, and I was overjoyed in Kitano's images, unable to get out of my body, and was completely overwhelmed by his humor, his unconventional humor—never nonsense, nor vulgar coincidences. The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi makes you reluctant to recover for a long time after you finish laughing. Because once he recovers, he will surely fall into an inexplicable greater loneliness. Movies are not life, Wim Wenders said. Takeshi Kitano gave the same response. A movie is a movie, and it will always give you a feeling that life can't give you—including the work of Hou Hsiao-hsien, who tried to recreate real life in long takes, and Jia Zhangke, a follower of the style.

Originally thought it was another warm film like "That Summer, Tranquil Sea". But as the plot unfolded, I was completely wrong again. You have to succumb to his rich imagination and "dedicate yourself to the end, and then you will die". In a simple story with a realistic theme, Takeshi Kitano has created a fairy tale world that is both fantasy and real. In and out, come and go freely, without the slightest trace. So, when I watch it, I think of Edward Scissorhands and Alice in Wonderland. But, in the end, the Hollywood factory-style films made by those seniors were completely under Kitano Takeshi. In an interview in the afternoon, when Ye Jintian talked about the gap between Chinese costume films and foreign costume films, he said something that impressed me deeply: only dishes without plates, there will be no good dishes. Takeshi Kitano's dishes are always served on the best plates, so we look so beautiful, smell the aroma, taste delicious, and we want to try it again. There is no doubt that we have to admit that Japanese movies have much to learn from us. And it's not something one or two directors can change with one or two good films (and complaining and complaining again).

The story tells that when the summer vacation came, a gangster (played by Kitano Takeshi), at the behest of his wife, took the little boy Masao (played by Yusuke Sekiguchi) to the beach to find his mother far away. A story of twists and turns (close to bizarre) on the way to and from. Did you laugh, I laughed. Are you moved? I'm moved. Or rather, I had to laugh, I had to be moved. Takeshi Kitano has such control. He directs the film, but he has already planned to direct the audience at the same time. Can't say whether it's good or bad. But works of art, too objective and neutral, are not a good thing. So, I am willing to be held by the nose and cry and pull the face and smile.

The end of the film. The little boy asked Kitano Takeshi from a distance: What's your name. A: Oh, Kikujiro!

I am speechless.


http://www.mtime.com/my/fall1114/blog/178177/

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Extended Reading

Kikujiro quotes

  • Masao: By the way, Mister, what is your name?

    Kikujiro: It's Kikujiro, dammit.

  • [after trying out several unkind methods to get a ride with someone, Masao and Kikujiro finally succeeds]

    Masao: You see? Asking politely is easier.

    Kikujiro: [chuckles] Shut up, smart-ass.