Glory to the Filmmaker!

"Kantoku banzai!" is a very strange movie to see. Much like the "Adaptation", it is - in a way - a movie about itself being made.

Takeshi Kitano plays himself as a director who's trying to shoot movies in all possible genres but never really manages to do so. But much more than about the lack of success in those movies, "Kantoku banzai" seems to be about Kitano's being tired of all those genres with this movie eventually turning into a quite chaotic meddle of all previously presented genres. But contrary to the "Adaptation", "Kantoku banzai" doesn't try to put it all together into a coherent story so we're left with a bunch of very loosely connected clips ranging from regular slapstick comedy sketches (the karate scene is hilarious!!!) through slightly crazy scenes to some utterly insane and absurd brainstorming. That may be confusing when you try to make sense of the movie but I think it basically is what the movie is about - the director doing whatever he wants to.

This all would make for a really great movie, the only shame is that it sometimes tends to be long and gets a little boring, especially near the end.

If I had to name three directors that had a direct influence on my taste for Japanese movies, Takeshi Kitano would surely be among those three. Films like Hana-bi and Sonatine swept me away into a whole new abyss of film-making. So starting off this film section with a Kitano film is more than appropriate. And what better film to pick than his latest directorial effort, Kantoku: Banzai!. For better or for worse, a movie that at least deserves being written about. Kitano's wacky visions Although in certain ways a complete opposite, Kantoku: Banzai! is the companion piece of Takeshis', Kitano's previous film. When some time ago he announced that he wanted to take a different direction as a director (a quote that is directly referenced in Kantoku: Banzai!), he surely wasn't joking around. He abused Takeshis' to mix up all his previous films into one big Kitano shake. The result was unique. Kantoku: Banzai! fills the void Takeshis' left behind. As a mix of all the films he has never made, the result is even crazier.

Kantoku: Banzai! shares the same humor as Takeshis'. Something I'm sure most people will not appreciate. While Kitano's films have always been quite humorous, they still fitted the art-house mold. Apart from Getting Any? of course, but even to the most avid Kitano fans, that film is still relatively unknown. Kantoku: Banzai! sees Kitano going back to Beat Takeshi once more, his character that is most loved in his home country.

At the core of this movie, we find Kitano himself. Unable to decide what to make of his new film, he cycles through a series of failed projects, trying his hand at some of the genres he hasn't done before. The parodies on genre films are nice, although still pretty much rooted in the Kitano universe. Things get really weird when his "new" film finally starts. The film turns mad, introducing several crazy characters and delving into the weird kind of slapstick Kitano is known for in his Beat Takeshi role. The doll Kitano has been carrying around finally becomes Kitano himself, showing up whenever it gets rough on the director, taking all the hits.

Visually, the film is interesting. Not the knock-out beauty that a film like Dolls was, but much in the same vein as Katsuhito Ishii's Taste of Tea, Kantoku: Banzai! is filled with wacky visuals that defy description. The CGi is quite simplistic, but again this is used to maximum effect. Same goes for the music, which never bears the emotion of Hisaishi's best work, but still conveys and adds to the pleasure of this film.

Kantoku: Banzai! is not a perfect film. The structure of the film is quite repetitive (with Kitano trying out many different genres) so in places it does start to drag a little. The humor itself isn't always spot on but within a film like this that is to be expected. But what I missed the most was a scene similar to the end of Takeshis', where Kitano shows off that he can mix art-house with slapstick and still produce a killer result. That kind of grandeur is not really apparent in Kantoku: Banzai! Somehow this is a personal film, as Kitano clearly plays himself, lost in the world of cinema. But it's hard to tell where reality stops and where the film universe takes over. Kitano gloats, he is cocky and pretentious, but just as easily he makes fun of himself. He is one of the few that can actually pull off a film like this. Kantoku: Banzai is one big happy mess of film-making, referencing many other directors, resembling many more, but defying them all by making something totally unique and totally Kitano.

We'll see what the future brings. It's not a type of film that Kitano can repeat forever, but together with Takeshis' it marks a mad interruption in his line of work as a director. The film is fun, strange and compelling. It's nice to see many of his regulars pass by (although he should give Terajima a bigger role next time) and through all the wackiness, there's still a whole lot of solid ground in it. If anything, this film will only add to the myth that Takeshi Kitano is.

Highly recommended for fans, other people should treat this film with caution. I myself loved it, but I didn't expect anything else.

I can see why some people would hate this movie, but there are a lot of people who shouldn't miss it. I will argue that it is immensely funnier and more meaningful if the viewer: 1.) Has seen several of Takeshi's other films (at least one or two gangster ones, Kikujiro no Natsu, and Zatoichi for good measure)

and

2.) Is familiar with classic Japanese cinema, particularly the works of Yasujiro Ozu...but samurai and horror films are skewered here, too, so if they're more your bag, you'll still have something to relate to.

Bonus enjoyment if the viewer: 3.) Has some knowledge of Japanese and can catch the nuances that subtitles can't capture--the subtitles are indeed serviceable, and my Japanese isn't good enough to understand it without them, but some of the ritual Japanese expressions I caught were uproarious in certain contexts in the film

and 4.) Has spent some time in Japan. I feel like Japanese society, ritualistic conventions, and mannerisms are lampooned often in the film, and any Westerner who is often confused or frustrated by them may find this film a relief and a delight.

All in all, though, what is most necessary is an open mind. This film does not have a very meaningful ending, and even makes fun of the loose ends it leaves undone. It was made for the sake of comedy and is not plot or character-driven, so don't expect Hana-bi. If you're looking for a send-up of Japanese cinema (including the director's own works) and some completely ridiculous, from-way-out-in-left-field humor, check out Glory to the Filmmaker. Some of the gags do fall painfully flat, but even some of the really silly stuff made me laugh harder than I have at any other film in quite a while. Some of the film parodies are pretty subtle and understated, where you could *almost* take them seriously if they weren't in the context of such a ridiculous film, but since the movie makes it clear from the start that everything's a joke, you'll find yourself laughing out loud at the little things that are deliberately askew in them. The narrator is wonderful, too, and is responsible for a good portion of the laughs in the film. Personally I found this more accessible and far more enjoyable than Takeshis', perhaps because unlike that film, the director's intentions are clear here from the start: he's just doing it for the laughs.

Okay... that was a TRIP! Holy moly! I'm usually not a fan of movies without plots or anything that doesn't engage the viewer but somehow Takeshi Kitano managed to make a movie that is so silly and so fundamentally engaging that plot is not needed at all. One should view this movie as a sort of state of the auteur and how his relationship to his art has changed him, the viewer and his movies.

As I said, the movie doesn't really have a plot instead it pokes fun at Takeshi's own work with a critical but also a sarcastic and comedic eye- it isn't until the halfway point of the movie (or after the first 40 mins or so) where the movie settles on a really crazy hi jinx sci-fi romantic story starring a mother and her daughter and Takeshi and his own stand-in doll character. The doll character is perhaps the symbolism that most prevails during the movie's own runtime, acting as a stand-in for the director (perhaps a reflection on his own stoicism? Or how he feels as a director?). As you can hear from me I'm still not sure what this movie is really about, and maybe that's the point- just a trip to Takeshi Kitano's mind- and boy is it funny! It's filled with absurd comedy that'll make you laugh. I don't understand why it says in the genre labels of this movie that it's a drama cause it certainly is not!

Moviemaking wise it's shot really beautifully and stylised it has some cheesy elements of bad CGI and effects that are meant to be like that in the movie.

Otherwise I have no more words to describe what I just watched, you just have to see it for yourself! For me it's definitely one of my fav Takeshi Kitano movies so far and I'm happy I saw this one! For any other viewer I'd recommend to just turn off your brain and have fun, cause there's no logic to anything that happens- it's an absurd comedy skit where the only thing that makes some sense is the beginning and the end.

It's a question how much of an impression that Monty Python made in Japan overall but it certainly seems to be an influence on Kitano's latest work. Certainly Terry Gilliam's signature title graphics for Life of Brian and Meaning of Life are alluded to in this film.

The film starts as the narrator gives an account on how Kitano's newest film is coming along. Since Kitano is uncomfortable with the genres of Romance and family drama, these films are abandoned and he is given some action fare to work with. The results are less than satisfactory so it's decided to have Kitano direct an asteroid on collision with earth film. This takes us about 45 minutes into the real film and at this point things get very strange. A mother and daughter (the mother has a giraffe doll on her back and the daughter has a goose puppet on one arm) decide to not pay for a bowl of noodles by dropping a cockroach (that they carry around for just an occasion) into the food and complaining to the chef. But before they can complain, a bunch of professional wrestlers at another table complain about roaches in their food. The two chefs come out and beat up the wrestlers. Kitano plays an assistant to a weird chairman of a society that's devoted to performing odd acts of charity. The chairman's son looks a lot like the Mr. Gumby character from Monty Python.

Kitano speaks very little in this film. Mostly he is silent and immobile much like the metal doll that stands in for him during the fight sequences. Once we get into the second half, he loosens up especially during his pantomime comedy bits. The film seems like it's a statement about being an aging film maker in the Japanese entertainment world. Unfortunately, for me the pacing was very slow at times and could have had a good 10 minutes cut out without losing any content. I laughed at some of the film but by the end I was wondering if the film was just Kitano screwing around with ideas.

I enjoyed watching this film but I have a had time recommending it to anyone but Kitano fans.