Takeshis'

Quirky? yes. Disjointed? Yes. Hysterical? Absolutely. Having watched Kitano's interpretation of Zatoichi, Blood and Bones, Brother, Kikujiro and Battle Royal I and II, this movie is a complete spoof of his recent movie making career. How he managed to bring so many actors from all of these previous films onto one stage is quite something. In all honesty, viewers shouldn't try to read too much into Takeshis'. It's Kitano. It's Kitano showing us what he feels we know of him in his films. Explosive, comical, distant, a little off the hook. Takeshis' won't make much sense to someone who hasn't at least seen some of the aforementioned movies. Takeshis' is classic Kitano. You either like and understand this fellow, or you scratch your head in wonderment.

I wasn't too keen on this film. While the overall plot is intriguing, with the 'real' Takeshi Kitano contrasting a 'look-alike' Takeshi Kitano with some interesting plot points, sequences and a story that is actually well-acted and entertaining, the style of this film took me for a loop.

Some sequences became fantasy sequences, but this wasn't realized until after the fact. Hence, this left me second guessing the truthfullness of the narrative as I was watching. The second guessing feeling, I think, held me back from fully engrossing myself in this as I started to question the story-teller and what I was seeing on the screen. When the movie ended, while the majority of these jumps in time or possibility were explained, I still had some uncertainty about what had actually happened. This feeling of not really knowing what I saw left me feeling very uncertain, and slightly confused. Somehow, I prefer movies that are relatively straightforward -- at least by the end of the story.

On the plus side, strong acting overall which viewers will find enjoyable. Seeing one actor play two strongly contrasting characters so well is indeed rewarding in itself. For that alone, I would recommend checking this out.

The film has a lot of potential, with tons of funny and impressive scenes and situations, characters who are made complete and alive with only a few brush strokes. It starts off as a wry satirical depiction of Japan's TV land and "Jollywood," and becomes increasingly surrealistic as it moves along (I'm using the word moves very loosely, as I couldn't see much plot development). It's Takeshi's 8 1/2, referencing a lot of the director/performer/producer's earlier work and showing his agony as artist and celebrity... There were also references to several classics (Scorcese's Taxi Driver comes to mind, for one) I'm only giving it a 4, as the last third of the film falls apart in a jumble of disjointed scenes, some of which remain too static too long.

I felt that Takeshi's contained enough stuff for several enjoyable movies, but a lot of it went to waste and was repeated ad nauseam. I think viewers could have a better experience with this movie if they were prepared to sit back and relax, enjoying eye candy and little bits thrown on the screen. To expect a follow-able plot would be a big mistake!

Two years after dusting down Shintaro Katsu's blind Zatoichi persona for his quirky period-drama re-jig, Takeshi Kitano is back in his own original territory - with a somewhat intriguing inclination towards double-vision.

Takeshis', which debuted at this year's Venice International Film Festival and subsequently screened at the celluloid festas in Vancouver, Toronto and London, has thus far traversed a bumpy course, with critical maulings riding shotgun up there alongside the more expected superlatives.

On one level a homage to the yakuza gangster flicks Kitano helped to define (since taken to the violent extreme by Takeshi Miike in Ichi The Killer), this movie also doubles as a parody of the style and might just be Kitano's farewell kiss to same. The 58-year-old writer/director has quipped that this is a funeral for the genres he explored over the last dozen movies, in particular the gangster premise, and die he apparently does - several times over - as do more than half the cast and extras in a series of grandiose shoot-outs. The yakuza die. The samurai and the sumo die. Heck, even the deejay in the club scene dies.

In the process Takeshis' throws together a smattering of melancholia, a whacked- out sense of humor, tap-dancing musical interludes, a Bonnie & Clyde twist, and touts more guns than a John Woo slug-fest. The narrative structure is as peppered as a spray of bullets from an Uzi.

The gist of the story is a shake-down of two characters played by 'Beat' Takeshi (Kitano) himself: one the "real life" movie star/director, and the other a shy, deadbeat convenience store clerk who aspires to an actor. But there's a third overwhelming id here, and that's Kitano's own on-screen alter ego from those earlier yakuza romps. The question - which one of these three is the real McCoy? - disintegrates as proceedings reach out on a surreal, metaphysical limb in which dreams interplay with reality, nightmares become farce - and then all swings violently back into an unsure version of the here and now. This makes for a sublime visual feast that's as baffling as it is refreshing.

Kitano's trilogy of parts aside, there's a bevy of other doppelgangers, mirror images and dead-ringers rife throughout this movie. Kotomi Kyono, while a tad dull as the movie star Takeshi's girlfriend, bears more than just costume jewelery sparkle in her ulterior role as a glitzy, ditsy yakuza girlfriend who happens to be the deadbeat Takeshi's tormenting neighbor.

As the creative synod here, Kitano certainly isn't afraid to poke fun at himself or the genres he's looked at more seriously in the past. But, after teasing with some mischievous insights, he then skirts the issue. And the weak moments in Kitano's earlier film Dolls (2002) - self-conscious "artistic" references - are stitched into Takeshis' with abandon. A recurring clown motif, bullets-as-star- constellations riff, and heavy-handed symbolism (in this case of a caterpillar) almost bludgeon the viewer, as if Monty Python had taken a blunt instrument to David Lynch - rendering it all a bit like Eraserhead on a bad hair day.

Not that this is such a bad thing; at times, it's brilliant. In some bizarre way - don't bother asking how - Kitano pulls off the slap-stick Mothra-sized larva pantomime that appears at various stages throughout proceedings.

But on the whole it's these asides that make the movie lurch, and off-shoots like the World War II scenes that book-end the film come off as just plain obscure. Takeshis' could have been that much stronger a movie. As it stands, in spite of (or because of) the pointed vignettes, the tap-dancing, and the associated meanderings-within-daydreams, it's a minor masterpiece. Just.

ANDREZ BERGEN

Before I get into anything, I'll admit the film was pretty funny. I laughed more than a few times, and I wasn't alone. There were definitely some funny moments.

Now to my impressions, and I'll include some high level feedback I got from others as well. I'm a mid-tier Kitano fan. I've seen a handful of his directorial films, and many of the films he's acted in. I went with two other people (bear with me, this has a purpose), one of which has seen all of his films, another who hasn't seen a single film by Kitano. Why do I mention this? Because I think it might be one of the keys to enjoying this film As mentioned in the synopsis, the film is about his life. It starts with Beat Kitano the superstar, and follows him around "off set" to give the viewer an idea of what he's face in his daily life. At some point he comes across a "Mr. Kitano" (also played by Beat) in which the story starts to explore the fantasy world of this "Mr. Kitano" who idolizes Beat. While fantasizing, he touches on aspects of his others films, and this is where the experience will differ depending on your prior "Kitano" experience. There were a few scenes I laughed at, where as my friend who had not seen a single Kitano film look puzzled. On the other hand, there were some scenes in which I didn't really react, yet my friend who is a "Kitano Fan" smiled from ear to ear. I guess what I'm trying to say is while I think anyone can enjoy this film, it really seems to truly experience what Kitano was trying to do you have to know a little about his other films. If you don't have prior knowledge, I'd be willing to bet by the end you'll question if 25-30 minutes of the film couldn't have been removed with little impact on the end result.

One of the question I thought about while watching the film was why the movie moved so far way from Beat? I actually found the Beat segments to be more enjoyable than the later part of the film, but unfortunately Beat doesn't remain in the film for long before he runs into "Mr Kitano". I also wonder if he didn't spend too much time exploring this fantasy world, and the end resulted in too much for the viewer. It was fun at first, but I'll admit as much as I love art film, this started to get a bit redundant after a while.

I'd also like to mention that the film (at least in my eyes) is by far his most "artsy" film to date. It almost seemed Ki-Duk like at times, as the last 40 minutes or so of the film had very, very little dialog. Somewhat like HWAL.

Anyhow, I'd probably give the film something between a 7 and 8. I'm pretty sure it's going to get some outstanding reviews, as critics who've had more experience with Kitano should get more out of the film. When the DVD drops I might give it another spin.