Takeshi Kitano is one of the most admired Japanese directors in the critical community at the moment. While he has a place in every aspect of the Japanese entertainment industry, his films have made waves in the global film industry.
Takeshi Kitano combined the refined minimalism of some of Japan's most beloved directors with his own unique style of violence and surreal humor to create a unique style that was imitated by many.
Kikujiro's Summer is different from his previous gangster crime films, but it is still a huge success at film festivals around the world and is loved by fans.
The little protagonist, Masao, is a young boy in the third grade of elementary school who lives a relatively happy life with his doting grandmother. With the arrival of the summer vacation, the classmates went on vacation with their families, and Masao found himself alone during the holidays, unaccompanied.
Masao's father died in an accident a long time ago, and his mother worked in a distant field to earn money to support her young son. Because he hadn't seen his mother for a long time, Masao decided to pack up his precious things and travel a long way to see his mother.
The female neighbor stumbles upon him running away from home on the street, so she asks her idle husband Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano, the same name as Takeshi Kitano' father) to accompany Masao on the road. But it turns out that Kikujiro is not a qualified caretaker, and he wastes all the money he has to spend on gambling on the road, and he throws his anger on Masao.
After a series of twists and turns, a special relationship is formed between Masao and Kikujiro, and in the process, Kikujiro, who has always been annoying, is also redeemed. He sees a lot of things in Masao's pain that reminds him of his childhood, so the journey becomes an opportunity for the two to find answers.
When Kikujiro arrives at masao's mother's house, the expected reunion takes an unexpected turn, and Kikujiro has to rely on his own warmth to solve a tricky problem.
Thankfully, in this sensitive and often laughable family film, the brutal side of Takeshi Kitano's other works is tossed aside. Still, the director is not afraid to touch on some dark issues and incorporates multiple tones and themes into the narrative.
The inexperienced director may not be able to satisfactorily handle Kikujiro's main storyline, let alone the deeper subtext in the film.
Takeshi Kitano once again uses his mastery of cutscenes and still images to evoke emotions, with static transitions that, like the work of the best artists, resonate more than any plot.
Unlike many Hollywood films of similar genres, Kikujiro's Summer prides itself on its unpredictability and sincerity.
Similarly, the film's dynamic series of characters owes a lot of credit to Takeshi Kitano. While Kikujiro himself isn't as likable, the hidden details of his personality emerge throughout the process, as do many of the characters who appear halfway through, often with engaging comedic humor and tense moments.
Kikujiro's Summer benefited greatly from two outstanding lead actors. Takeshi Kitano's character is very similar to his usual idle image, but injects more warmth into Kikujiro. Masao, played by Yusuke Sekiguchi, is sincerely pleasing to people, and at the same time, it is admirable that such a small actor can have such a delicate performance.
In this work, the location also becomes a "character", and those desolate and lonely areas can be regarded as the perfect metaphor for the right man. In short, it's a wonderful movie. The more you watch it, the more classic it feels.