August 16, 2007 - Hana-bi (1997) by Takeshi Kitano

Hana-bi (1997)

Writing about a Kitano movie, that's a tough one !

The story of a cop who quits his job after an accident.
Technically, this sums up the movie but there's SO much more in the movie than the story.

As stated in the Wikipedia article, the "deadpan demeanor, the stillness, the languid pace, the lengthy takes, the sudden ruthless violence, and the overall minimalism" are here mastered by Kitano and Joe Hisaishi's music really highlights the emotions throughout the movie.

The degree of Kitano's own involvment in this movie also adds to its uniqueness. Besides the "usual" roles of director and actor, he also edited the movie, wrote the screenplay and painted the paintings that appear in it.

This is one of the best Kitano movies and the 21 awards (including Venice's Festival's Golden Lion) won't contradict this statement !

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119250/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hana-bi