Kikujirô no natsu

Plot synopsis:
Masao, who lives alone with his grandmother in an old Shitamachi area of Tokyo, receives a package, and in looking for a seal finds a photo of his long lost mother. He finds her address in Toyohashi, several hundred miles to the west. Leaving home to see his mother, he meets his grandmother's neighbors, Kikujiro and his wife. Kikujiro's wife forces Kikujiro to accompany Masao on a journey to see his mother, telling Masao's grandmother that they are going to the beach.
At the start of their journey, Kikujiro is not serious about reaching Toyohashi. He gets absorbed in track cycling races and gambles away their winnings. Later, left outside a yakitori restaurant, Masao encounters a molester. After a narrow escape, Kikujiro promises to keep to the journey and take Masao to his mother. When the taxi Kikujiro steals breaks down, they are forced to hitchhike to Toyohashi, meeting various people along the way. They get lifts from a juggler and her boyfriend on a date, and a travelling poet who delivers them to Toyohashi. When they finally reach the address of Masao's mother, Kikujiro finds her living as a housewife with another man and their daughter. Masao's mother lives a completely different life from what he expected. It is almost as if she has forgotten him. Kikujiro tells Masao that she has just moved away, pretending not to have seen her. He tries to comfort Masao with a small blue angel bullied from two bikers whom he happens to come across.
Masao is so disappointed that Kikujiro cannot help but try to brighten up their return trip to Tokyo. He tells him an angel will come at the sound of the bell.
They visit a summer matsuri held in a local Shinto shrine. While Kikujiro gets into trouble with some yakuza over a fixed shooting game, Masao dreams of dancing Tengu.
Back on the road, they meet the poet and the two bikers again. They decide to camp a few days together. Masao enjoys playing some traditional games with them.
Kikujiro is reminded of his own mother (it is implied that she, like Masao's mother, also left him as a child). Kikujiro gets one of the bikers to take him from their camp to his mother's nursing home in Daito-cho, a small country town, but he eventually decides not to see her and returns to the camp.
The men continue to do their best to entertain Masao by larking about for a few more days. Before they are to return to Tokyo, Masao dreams about them appearing over the Milky Way. In the morning, the bikers say goodbye to them and leave the camp. Masao and Kikujiro get a lift in the poet's car to Tokyo. After dropping them off at a bridge, the poet continues on his way to Osaka and Kyūshū.
Before Masao and Kikujiro part, Kikujiro says "Let's do it again sometime" and Masao thanks him. Kikujiro tells Masao to take care of his grandma. Masao asks Kikujiro's name and Kikujiro answers "Kikujiro! Now scram!". Masao passes a small bridge with the Angel bell ringing.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
In the title role of this highly original 1999 road movie, Beat Takeshi - with his twitching eye and bow-legged shuffle - looks and acts like a cross between Mickey Rourke and Harvey Keitel with a heavy dose of Walter Matthau's sourpuss demeanor (circa "The Bad News Bears") for good measure.
As the director and screenwriter of said film, Takeshi Kitano - the same guy - has fashioned something quite unique from a tired premise - a boy's search for his mother and the gruff man who begrudgingly helps find her.
In fact, Kitano does such a resolutely offbeat job that at certain times, the film reminds me of the narrative ellipses and low steady shots that were the trademark of Yasujiro Ozu's home dramas, intermingled with a surprisingly intense Quentin Tarantino-like, in-your-face edginess.
The protagonist of the film is really the latch-key nine-year old, Masao, who is on a quest to find the mother whom his grandmother says is "away working".
My favorite scenes come toward the end when Kikujiro organizes a motley crew of misfits to play games with Masao and have them masquerade as Indians, aliens, marine life and even watermelons.
The variety in tone between chapters makes for unexpected tonal shifts, but somehow it works and adds to the greater context of the story.That Kitano is able to manage a consistent film-making style with a strong visual sense is a credit to the talent behind the camera - not only Kitano's direction, script and film editing but also his artwork showcased throughout the movie, Katsumi Yanagishima's sharply rendered cinematography and Joe Hisaishi's evocative Windham Hill-like score.
One would think the story would climax when Masao comes upon his mother, but Kitano confounds expectations with every new scene.
On paper the plot looks very Disney-like (grumpy old coot hits the road with an unhappy kid), but hey, this is Beat Takeshi, so what he does with it is always original and surprising.
I enjoyed 'Kikujiro' a lot, and the more Kitano movies I see, the more I think he is one of the most underrated directors working today..
But as we see only moments later the boy would be better off alone, as kikujiro's fondness of gambling and (very amusing) way to treat people makes the journey a funny and quite touching odyssee.
Eventually, Kikujiro left his family".I know Kitano Takeshi made this film because he has been tired of violence/gangsters/life&death in his previous film, but what made him writing a story about his father-a man who abandoned his family when Kitano was young.
Does Kitano himself desire a father too much, so he is willing to accept his father's bad habits as long as his father is still at his side.It is not really a film I'd say, I feel like I am seeing the characters in real life.
From its hauntingly beautiful soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi to the wonderful characters who inhabit Takeshi Kitano's magical Japan - everything in this movie comes together to make this one of modern cinema's truly underrated masterpiece.The story involves a petty thug, Kikujiro, who is coerced into accompanying a young boy, Masao, on his cross country journey to find his birth mother.
Some friendly, some mysterious, some quirky, some abrasive, but all of them refreshingly human.A lesser writer or director would have settled for a quick dose of weirdness from the main characters' fellow wanderers, but Takeshi Kitano milks them for all of the depth and endearment that the too few minutes we are graced with their presence allows.If you enjoyed the whimsical, go-nowhere feel of Lost in Translation, you will LOVE this movie.
It's really a loving portrayal of one little boy, Masao's, summer, spent with this seemingly eccentric retired gangster "Mister" played by Kitano.
Joe Hisaishi's theme music for "Kikujiro" certainly is catchy and the score gave Kitano's film its rhythm and accents along this unlikely pair's journey - a grown man, who's become childlike once more while escorting Masao on his quest to fulfill the dream of seeing his mother.
An interesting aside to analyze that theme would be the carnival scene, where people entrusted with family entertainment turn out to be violent cheaters, whereas even the heavy-metal biker folk are more than willing to go out of their way to help Masao.The film itself is from Masao's perspective, as a childhood's slightly photographic memory comes into play, mixed a lot with colorful imagination.
I think Kikujiro is mainly about loneliness.Takeshi's character and the boy, Masao, seem really different on the surface.
Masao is only a child, and all this kind of disappointment is new to him.In a less realistic film maybe the characters would be, in their characteristic brooding way, like, "Eh, them's the breaks huh kid".
That everyone loves, and everyone cries, and just because their lives have been particularly worse than others doesn't mean they can't reach out to and come to an understanding with others.The film's long takes sometimes feel kinda pointless, like they're just there because that's part of the director's style.
It doesn't feel like some kind of deliberately tragic cliché, but still adds a great amount to the mood of the movie and helped bring me to tears at some points.Some negative reviews I've read call Kikujiro shallow or emotionally manipulative, but I can't see that at all.
But this Japanese weird stuff has got to stop.The first 2/3rds of the movie are fairly interesting - the kid and a guy who's maybe him except older go in search for his mom.Then for the last 1/3rd we get to see a string of scenes where weird people do random & silly things.
Takeshi Kitano plays Kikujiro, a combative, ne'er-do-well drifter who is badgered into taking a young boy, Masao, from Tokyo to Toyohashi to meet his mother--for the first time ever.Someone with a little money and with what passes these days for common sense could get there in maybe an hour by bullet train.
But this is, on the whole, a good-hearted movie (...somewhat rare for Kitano) that managed to make all of us smile....really, though, the title should have been "Masao no natsu", Masao's Summer Vacation..
Takeshi Kitanos 1999 film is about a young boy searching for his estranged mother in his summer vacation.
Masao and Kikujiro takes a wild road trip into a Japanese countryside where they meet Angel like strangers, who in real life were outcast and alienated people.
This movie is exactly what I was hoping that Takeshi Kitanos other film, A Scene At The Sea, would be like.
The film is really beautiful and is both funny and touching.Takeshi Kitano plays a character that, at first seems similar to some of his other characters, but has a lot more heart.
All the other people they encounter on their trip are also great and fun to watch, which adds to the movie.The film is interestingly shot and edited.
The director/star/editor of "Kikujiro" (Takeshi Kitano) began with stage comedy, then became known for his hyper-violent (yet hypnotically artistic) gangster films, and is now known as a modern master of art cinema.
If "a picture is worth a 1000 words", Takeshi Kitano milks every last syllable."Kikujiro" is a beautifully wicked road movie about a cute little kid looking for his momma.
Takeshi Kitano plays the guardian: a loud-mouthed, selfish, good-for-nothing troublemaker who decides to exploit the kid for all he's worth.
I could go on for ages about the clever symbolism and poetic themes, the complexity of Takeshi Kitano's character, the power of the film's final scene...
Before Battle Royale, I had the chance to see this film on TV about a boy who wanted to see his father and then later befriends Beat (who is unnamed until the end of the movie) and a couple of bikers.It's very entertaining to see how a grown man and a little boy can get into such mischief.
The theme will more than likely leave you in tears by the time you have your fun adventures with Beat and Masao and see them...well, it's best to see for yourself.A stellar film and a must watch..
The result is a film that manages to be funny and touching in the same time and it accomplishes that without relying on the clichés that are usually present in films of this kind.Little boy Masao decides to go on a long trip in order to visit his mother whom he had never seen, but in order to do that he must be accompanied by an adult.
His directing is also precise and he makes great use of the wonderful score from Joe Hisaishi.With "Kikujiro", Kitano started from a formula that you can also find in Hollywood movies (that of two very different people traveling together), but the final result doesn't look like anything from Hollywood.
Takeshi Kitano (who writes and directs) plays a deadbeat adult who agrees to take little Masao on a cross-country summer trip to meet his estranged mother.
The cast of characters are all rather unique and fun to watch, and the interplay between Kitano's character and the young boy is both delightful and upsetting.The film's events are divided up and introduced as events in Masao's summer diary.
Being PG rated (Hana-Bi was NC16), the queue of those expected to watch this film was again snaking, even though most of the (free) tickets were already snapped up.The story centers on the deep friendship which develops between a quirky, mean and uncouth middle-aged man, and a young boy.
It doesn't start off rosy, as Kikujiro (played by Takeshi himself) gets assigned, against his wishes, chaperon duties to assist and ensure that the young boy Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi) gets to find his mother.
So begins a road trip of sorts, with the duo encountering a host of situations and characters (aren't road trips all like that?)The movie can be seen as two distinct halves, with the first half in my opinion the more superior portion of the film.
Somehow Yusuke Sekiguchi, who plays Masao, doesn't seem to act cute at all, and I thought it was kind of mirroring real life - imagine between a baby and an adult, who's the one playing the fool most of the time in their interactions with each other?Nonetheless, Kikujiro is still an admirable story on friendship, amongst the unlikeliest of couples, with Kikujiro cutting a father like figure to Masao's little child.
For those who liked this movie, and wants to see some good others, see the Hana-Bi (little violent, but even more deep) and Dolls (i was crying - one reason was i was touched, second - beauty of the colors and form).....For me its just one word - Outstanding..
For those who liked this movie, and wants to see some good others, see the Hana-Bi (little violent, but even more deep) and Dolls (i was crying - one reason was i was touched, second - beauty of the colors and form).....For me its just one word - Outstanding..
This is a film about a violent man doing a SWEET deed if you will, Sentenced by his take charge wife to take the boy to see his mother who has abandoned him for a new life in the country...THAT is pretty much the story.
Although I believe that the strongest shots in Takeshi's films are the silent ones, the music is absolutely beautiful and adds flavour and style to the movie..
I have seen "Kikujiro no natsu" at the Vienna filmfestival and I have to say, that for me it is an outstanding and excellent work by Takeshi Kitano.
I loved every minute of the film, especially where at the beginning of the film, the kid decides to search for his mother and the determination on his face as he ran off made me feel so good.Still, much of the credit has to go  to the composer of most of Takeshi's films - Joe Hisaishi - With his excellent composing and Takeshi's beautiful visions, Kikujiro no natsu is a must see..
The basic premise is a road trip, where Kitano is the unlikely chaperone for a little boy who wants to go and find his mother.
The basic premise is a road trip, where Kitano is the unlikely chaperone for a little boy who wants to go and find his mother.
I don't know what others might think about this movie, but (Takeshi) Kitano, again, gave us extreme quality.It's incredible, but he can't stop amusing me!
In this movie Kitano plays a basically ordinary man, who gets talked to guiding a 10-year old boy on a journey to see his mother for the first time.
Among other things, the man played by Kitano makes this film  fun to watch.
Takeshi Kitano's title character is one of the most intriguing I've ever seen on screen.There's something to be said for films like 'Midnight Run' and 'Gods and Monsters'.
I wasn't really sure what to expect, not knowing anything about 'Beat' Takeshi.I think that what helped me enjoyed the movie was that I recognized what the title character (Kikujiro, played by Takeshi) is all about.
This isn't at all like some of Beat's gangster movies (Hana-bi, Sonatine) but an incredibly emotionally powerful story about a young boys search for his mother who left him to live with his grandmother.
Takeshi Kitano manages to display on the screen a remarkable tale of a grown-up being taught how to enjoy life by a small child.The story starts with little Masao wondering where his mother is.
To soften his sadness Kikujiro decides to brighten the little boy's world before returning home.And this is where the movie goes wrong.
This is a shame, because up until the point where Masao finds his mother this movie was beautiful, well acted, and just plain good.The most memorable piece of dialogue must have been when at the beginning of the film Kikujiro's wife tells Kikujiro to "stop playing gangster".
Not being a fan of gangster movies, Ihad always wished that Kitano would make a film with all hisusual elements sans the violence.
The plot is a relatively simple road movie, but the way it is filmed, the combination of comedy and tragedy, and the insanity that has become a trademark of Takeshi Kitano films make this a real treat.
Perhaps one must already be a fan of Takeshi Kitano to like this film, since he plays a very unlikeable character in it.
Kitano plays a cantankerous middle-aged man, possibly mentally retarded in some way, who more or less kidnaps a young, friendless boy one summer and goes on a road trip with him.
The big problem is, Kikujiro (which is Kitano's character's name - he doesn't reveal it until the last minutes of the movie, like I'm supposed to really care) is a gigantic jerk.
In Takeshi Takeno's film 'Kukijiro', a young boy is taken by a strange old man he hardly knows on a journey across Japan to find the mother he has never met.
Kikujiro is a sweet road film full of amusing little scenes.
Fans of Takeshi Kitano's other harder films such as Sonatine and Fireworks will be a bit disappointed in Kikujiro but there is still enough in this movie to make it worth your while..
I rented this film after it was recommended to me, and it appeared to be well-received by a number of people I talked to and who apparently rate movies here on IMDb. After I finished watching Kikujiro I was left feeling like I was stuck behind a cultural barrier.
The film worth watching more than once (actually I have watched it five times, feel still not enough) I have watched all movies directed by Takeshi Kitano who is my favorite).
'Kikujiro' which I saw last night is a very special film in the Japanese cinema and in the filmography of Takeshi Kitano.The fans of Kitano will notice that he is taking the character he usually plays in the gangster movies and creates here a failed version of it.
The name - which we learn in the last scene - is the real name of Takeshi Kitano's father which is said to have shared at least some of the vices of the character in the movie like gambling.
The feelings of the little boy and his permanently sad look may have been inspired by the feelings of kid Takeshi and his disappointments in the relation with his father.By the time Kitano made this movie the 'grumpy man - lonely kid' films (which had the classic in Chaplin's Vagabond) were making a comeback.
Takeshi Kitano is a very well known name for me and I'm a big fan of his work however thinking in the subject I have seen only 3 films, 2 of them directed by him (Kids Return and Brother) and the other just with him as actor (Battle Royale).
Then I have the world of Kitano still to discover and certainly I really liked those 3 films and now "Kikujiro" was not the exception.
He is a great and strange character, he can be a total a****** and a good friend and thanks to Masao (Yusuke Sekiguchi) we are going to watch both sides of Kikujiro.
Masao is the protagonist of the film, a young boy who lives only with his grandmother, they used to be neighbours of Kikujiro and his wife.
It's a long way from Tokyo to where she lives in the country, so a family friend talks her husband, a grumpy ex-Yakuza, into accompanying the boy.The film is about the budding relationship between the older man, Kikujiro (played by Beat Takeshi who also directs), and the little boy.
But they also encounter some fun loving characters along the way and enjoy adventures together.By the end of the film, their van driver/poet drops them back off in the city where Kikujiro tells the little boy that it's been fun and that they should do it again.