The Japanese film Asakusa Kid is based on takeshi (ビートつたけし, also known as Peter Takeshi) in 1988. The more familiar identity of the film fans is the internationally famous director Takeshi Kitano, who is also a Japanese comedy giant, a painter, a columnist, an actor, a program host, and a film director, and it takes more than one afternoon to read the rich life of Takeshi Kitano, while "Asakusa Kid" only locks on the early experience of his career - in the youth of having nothing, the poor boy and the Japanese comedy town of Asakusa made their mark.
"Asakusa Kid" is about takeshi Kitano in his youth who wanders through Asakusa and learns the character of an artist from his master, Chisaburo Fukami. Directed and written by a troupe that is also a comedy artist, Yumi Yanagisaki, who won the cannes film emperor for "Nobody Knows About Summer Mornings", played Takeshi Kitano, Hiroshi Ozumi played Chisaburo Fukami, and other outstanding actors such as Nanami Suzuki, Mai Munwaki, and Nakajima Bu participated in the performance. In terms of film style, this film can be discussed side by side with the "Sunny Thunderbolt" (2014) that the troupe has cooperated with Hiroshi Ozumi, paying attention to the popular plot and emphasizing the sensational effect of the soundtrack and performance.
If you are an audience who often reads Takeshi Kitano's related works, you must be familiar with the story of "Asakusa Kid". The story of Takeshi Kitano and Chisaburo Fukami takes a tragic turn in the early 1980s, with a dramatic accident that impacts their relationship. This accident naturally became the climax of "Asakusa Kid", and also set the focus of the film: the bitter taste of a comedy artist for "success", the beautiful moments under the fame and fortune that were buried and did not have time to say goodbye. It's hard to say that this feeling is unique, but it is indeed a very universal emotion, and under the outstanding performance ability of Takeshi Kitano, this story is often repeated in his prose and writings.
In my personal opinion, Asakusa Kid's attempt to film the story of Takeshi Kitano was not a success. First of all, its advantage is that it recreates the details of the story in a flat manner, and the audience can feel that the story base attaches great importance to the "dignity and character of the artist" that Kitano often mentions, just as he likes to give the example, the stinky old man of a small sushi restaurant in a place does not need to take care of the public's feelings like a chain restaurant, but can completely use his own preferences to face the cuisine and guests. He also has similar views on artists and comedians, and although these characters seem to be showing off, the way they perform their skills depends on the superficial embarrassment.
In "Asakusa Boy", the characters show the old era character orientation that knows the culture of face: the master wants to send important second-hand items to the favorite apprentice, and will deliberately pretend to be stingy and collect five hundred pieces with the apprentice; obviously it is a touching reunion moment, but the master deliberately wants to pretend to be the vulgar appearance of the force. What is in mind is one thing, but the behavior must deliberately show another appearance; the more you can put down your face to take care of your juniors, the more handsome you appear. In terms of emotional tension, the most prominent should be here.
However, the film still has several flaws and is not perfected in the popular story. At the beginning, the soundtrack plays the song of the same name sung by Takeshi Kitano, "Asakusa キッド", the perspective of the song strengthens the subjectivity of looking back on the past after middle and old age, and the film does install the contrast between the elderly Kitano Takeshi and his youth, and treats it with old makeup. Nevertheless, the most obvious of Yumi Yanagi's interpretation of Takeshi Kitano is the over-imitation of Takeshi Kitano's facial expressions. Although the facial expression of the skin laughing flesh without smiling is the characteristic of Kitano Takeshi, the wit of the more obvious lianzhu cannon after suppressing the mutilation, or the strong calmness of the aura, has actually been seen in the performance of kitano Takemanai, but it is difficult to see in The interpretation of Yumi Yanagi. One of the most obvious aspects of this flaw is the facial expression of wearing old makeup and returning to asakusa France. The complex mindset of mixed tastes cannot be successfully conveyed feelings.
The long shot at the end of the film can also be seen in the unabashed sensational style of the troupe at the end, which is played again with the song "Asakusa", directly pulling nostalgia to a visual spectacle in the surreal fragment that melts memories. The other is Chisaburo Fukami's monologue on the last night, and the perspective reveals the confession of his last night in its entirety, which also highlights the emotional tension of Ozumi's performance to a certain extent, while suppressing the possibility of leaving blank.
Dramatic twists to sensationalize are indeed Kitano Takeshi's signature plays when writing. However, in the performance of the film, from the beginning to the end to maintain the state of emotional load, may directly lead to the film to lose the tail rhyme, Kitano Takeshi himself has always had a special understanding of the film blank and editing performance, which is also his unique point in driving different carriers, the troupe alone does not have a good grasp here. Looking at "Asakusa Kid" as a TV movie, there may still be a proper charm, and Oizumi and Yumi Yanagi's interpretation of kick dance and the song and dance performance of the Munwaki Mai Chorus have a charming effect in a single scene, but on the whole, the adaptation of the film that is overly inclined to the popular story still brings more regret than satisfaction.