Hana-bi (1997)
AKA: Fireworks
Year: 1997
Directed by: Takeshi Kitano
Starring: Takeshi Kitano (Nishi), Kayoko Kishimoto (Wife), Ren Osugi (Horibe), Tetsu Watanabe (Junkyard Guy)
Country: Japan, Asian Cinema
Language: Japanese (English Subtitles)
Runtime: 01:43:07
Genres: Cops, Depressing, Gangster
Plot – Spoilers:
Nishi is a cop whose wife is dying of cancer. His childhood friend and fellow cop Horibe gets shot and is relegated to a lonely wheelchair existence, after his wife moves out with their kid. The shootout didn’t go well for Nishi too and now out of work, he dabbles in working for a yakuza gang from whom he regularly borrows money. With not much to look forward to in the world around him, Nishi takes a calculated gamble to pay for a few weeks of happiness with his dying wife.
Hana-bi with its long takes of silence, rinses away any viewer-boredom through its beautiful music and stunning aesthetics and visuals. Undoubtedly, one of Takeshi’s greatest works.
Jesus, Kitano is an absolute badass in this.
What a poetic masterpiece….. I have become acquainted with his works when I first watched 2000’s movie called bother and ever since started to buy all his movies on DVD. I have to say there is nothing comparable with the touch of art and romance that Takeshi puts in his works.
One of the best movies ever made. I wonder why the hell it’s on this site though. If you did enjoy this I could recommend “Violent Cop”, which is Kitanos directorial debut. There’s some great scenes in that one.
Yo the cast is like violent cop i thought this was the same movie for a second
All you cunts get in line & suck me off