Aniki, mon frère

As i read most of the previous comments most of us agree that this film is one of a kind. We all enjoyed it on some other level, above and beyond the regular. It shows certain characteristics that we find most interesting, honor,loyalty. Good acting, strange plot, unpredictability. I hope there are more films like this one out there, but its hard to find. I watched this movie as an accident, I hope if someone that reads this knows of another similar movie that is JUST as good or better (if thats possible), this movie has been one of those movies that I will never be able to forget, it has been 1 year since i have seen it last, and every moment sticks out clear as day. Excellent movie, great job Takeshi! Good comments everyone, well said...well thought, pros and cons.

cheers

Beat Takeshi is a filmmaker so distinct and so completely different from any other filmmaker that you have to be prepared before seeing one of his films to watch something differently than you normally would. Brother is his first overseas production, and to this day his only one, and perhaps its minimal success and marginal fan base is due to its seeming lack of plot, its evasive editing, or something else that Takeshi customarily draws attention to, whether purposefully or not.

Brother is not quite his best film, but you will realize that the focus is not on the story but on the themes of its story. Completely unlike its characters, especially Takeshi's stone cold killer, its story is something to feel your way through. These characters do not feel much. They do. The movie is mostly made up of deadpan scenes of bloody violence, occasional dialogue, and quiet medium closeups. The music, which like in all Takeshi films is lush and emotional, directs our feelings.

Brother is great for fans of crime movies, gangsters, violence overall, Asian cinema, and even action fans, but Takeshi Kitano's style is a strangely deadpan and very personal approach. It's an acquired taste.

This is the 4th Kitano film I've seen recently. It has most of the characteristics of the other films - the sudden, shocking violence, the impassive silences, the same supporting actors, the obligatory seaside scene. But the shift to an American location weakens it, despite the excellent contributions of the US actors, especially Omar Epps.

But the core, unmissable qualities of a Kitano film remain. Takeshi Kitano must be the natural successor to Clint Eastwood as an anti-hero. Most of the stylised violence takes place off-screen, with a flash of humour, then the after-effects vividly on display. The sound-track from Joe Hisaishi matches the screen action perfectly, at times an aggressive supplement to the violence, at other times hauntingly peaceful.

The ending is the film's weakest part, as though Kitano pandered to imagined (or real) American requirements. The out-of-town setting and road movie elements fit uncomfortably with the rest of the film. But if this is the compromise needed to get Kitano to make more films out of Japan, it must be worthwhile.

Normally I like to give more detail in a review, but this is a quick one.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. I'm not entirely sure why. I think mostly it was just plain fun. 'Beat' Takeshi was just brilliant in the role of Aniki. It's a sign of a great actor when he can command your attention without really doing anything.

I loved its thoughtful pace and purpose, and how there was a real symmetry in the story. In terms of introduction of the characters and their interactions, the story closes in reverse really nicely. I won't say much more, as I don't want to spoil it; it's not major, just nicely done.

All in all, I highly recommend it. It's quite violent at times, but if you're okay with that (and hell, perhaps even like it in a Kill Bill kind of way) then definitely check this out.

"Brother" makes the "Godfather" trilogy look like a kindergarten Christmas production. Kitano is definitely glorifying gratuitous violence, I am sorry to say it but it's true. He's smart and chic enough to know that he could be making wonderfully poetic films for the artsy crowd but perhaps he wants to offend on purpose. However, he ends up making beautifully directed odes to brutality in which japanese contemporary society appears only as backdrop against the vicious and callous homicidal maniacs obssessed with serial killing. Here, Kitano ,expatriated in LA, quickly manages to practically wipe off entire Cholo (Chicano) mob population: dozens of bodies mowed left and right with an aide from three inept street hustlers (one of whom is his americanized half-brother)... Of course, "Brother" does have Kitano's trademark scenes even if not nearly as elaborate as those in "Sonatine" or "Fireworks": a brief long-shot scene at the beach and a GREAT roof scene with the paper airplane...LOOK, OF COURSE, FOR SOME CHOPPED FINGERS ETC.

I am perhaps rambling a little. It shows you how ambivalent my feelings about Kitano in fact are. On one hand I like him a lot and consider him a rarely gifted film maker. In fact, one of the finest. On the other hand I deeply deplore his basic premises: death and misogyny. I can't make up my mind. I keep wanting to stay away from his films and I end up seeing them one after another. A strange experience for me.