Kids Return

Shinji looks up to his friend Masaru, who doesn't seem to worry about the future nor his education... instead he spends his time pulling pranks on fellow students and teachers.

They don't bother looking for a purpose in life unlike many of the other characters, who all seem to have personal agendas or desperately seeking meaning.

Obviously they are failures in the eyes of overachieving Japanese society.

After a series of events they eventually find their goal in life. Shinji becomes a talented boxer and Masaru is making a fast career within the local yakuza.

This is a very personal and honest 'Kitano', an underdog story filled with moments of humor, melancholy, cynicism and realism. In life there are no real winners or losers, choices are made and often we fail.

In the end there is a moment of genuine Kitano magic, (like in most of his movies) where in one line one of them says it all.

Superb ! 9.5/10

With this film Takeshi takes a look back at the past in the lives of several men who are in the same school. The two protagonists each choose their own direction: one becomes a boxer, the other joins the yakuza. The story is a reflection on how the choices a man makes can affect their lives and their relationships. As always the drama is interwoven with occasional scenes of violence, and the comedy is dark but never too depressing. Everything about Kids Return is good, and therefore another great piece of Japanse film-making.

Along with Fireworks, This is one of Takeshi Kitano's finest movies. The movie covers the story of 2 "juvenile delinquents" who go thru life trying to find some kind of purpose. One becomes a boxer while the other becomes a yakuza. The film seems to be saying that not enough Japanese people are not taking time to enjoy their life; that people should not be so dead serious all the time.The film also features a very good supporting performance from Susumu Terajima as a "#2 gangster". It's always good to see him in Kitano's films. For the two protagonists, it shows that it doesn't matter what they with their life as long as they enjoy it.

So many things in this film are so well done. There is the nicely written and told story, the very suitable cast, the perfectly composed music and, of course, the excellent direction.

It was, from my point of view, a very good idea to have a variety of protagonists who are all, in some way, related to each other: all of them are just about to leave school and look for an adequate and fulfilling life. Some of them succeed, and some fail. Now the feat was to link all these single story lines together and make one film out of it. And Kitano really succeeded in this sector. And again this film has a lot of autobiographical elements in it. Kitano's own past as a delinquent or comedian for example.

The music was again a real pleasure. Joe Hisashi really knows his craft to compose very fitting melodies, which always remind me of old Japanese folk songs, and use them perfectly timed in Kitano's films.

If you've seen other Kitano movies and missed this one, you will definitely like it. For those who want to try out a Kitano film for the first time: watch it! It will be a very contemplative and rewarding experience.

Underlying message of the movie is to not let bad seeds, doubters, downers, and peer pressure hamper your progress to become great -- they are tests to see if you have what it takes to push forward

Kitano's comeback film after his suicide attempt

Follows two friends from high school who bullied kids . One fateful day they get jumped by a boxer and decide to adjust their lifestyles with the heart (some passionate some timid) of champions