Hana-bi

Plot synopsis:
Kitano plays Yoshitaka Nishi, a violent police detective who had to retire from the police after a tragic accident during a detention: detective Tanaka was killed by the suspect, while two other detectives, Nakamura and Horiba, were severely injured. Becoming unemployed, Nishi spends most of his time taking care of his sick wife Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), who has leukemia. The film moves at a deliberate pace and devotes much time to exploring their relationship. Miyuki also suffers after the death of their child. To pay for his wife's needs, Nishi borrows money from the yakuza but is having difficulty repaying them.
Meanwhile, Horiba, whom the accident left in a wheelchair, experiences a deep depression. His marriage quickly breaks up, so now he lives alone. In a conversation with Nishi, Horiba hints he considered committing suicide, while adding that he would like to paint but cannot afford to buy himself necessary materials.
Nishi buys a second-hand taxi cab and repaints it in police colors. He arms himself with a signal revolver and commits an audacious bank robbery dressed as a cop. He gives money to Tanaka's widow and buys inks and papers for Horiba who takes up painting and creates wonderful surrealistic works of art. Nishi then starts a journey to historical sites with his wife; both of them know they will not return.
Detective Nakamura learns about the gift for Tanaka's widow, advising her to keep the money. He also learns about the paints for Horiba and soon understands who committed the robbery. Meanwhile, guessing who may be behind the bank robbery, the yakuza thugs chase Nishi to extort money from him, allegedly for storage. Eventually, the yakuza men find Nishi, but he kills them all in a violent shootout. At the same time, Nishi is found by Nakamura, who wants to arrest Nishi for the robbery. Nishi asks Nakamura to spare him a moment of time and sits down on the beach next to his wife, who suddenly says to him, "Thank you... for everything". Then two gunshots are heard behind the scene, so viewers may guess that Nishi shot his wife and then himself.

Tags: dramatic, violence, depressing, murder

Review:
Hana-bi (1997) is Japanese film maker Takeshi Kitano's masterpiece along his Sonatine (1993).
Also one of Nishi's partners is shot dead in a scene, which belongs to the film's most powerful scenes and it is shown as a flashback, in the usual silent and symbolic style of the director.
What follows is all the great elements we've learned to wait from this artist from one of the greatest cinema lands in the world, Japan.Hana-bi is almost unbearably sad and emotional, and its most tragic character is Horibe, the partner who is paralyzed and totally abandoned by his wife and children after he loses his ability to move and be like his used to.
The scenes in which Horibe tells to Nishi about his loneliness and that everyone has left him are extremely powerful and really make think about the values of one's own life for the second time.
Horibe finds some kind of way to express his sadness through art and painting, and he gets a great gift from Nishi, one of his last friends who understands him and would never leave him like the others did.The shoot out flashback is also one memorable segment in this film, and it is in its slow motion one of the most beautiful, yet shocking depictions of violence ever possible.
His films are as important in this level as they are in cinematic element level as some of his usual trademarks are absolutely unique and stunning, and Hana-bi is definitely not an exception.The music is again by Joe Hisaishi, who composed Takeshi's films Sonatine and Brother plus some others.
Another film with similar ultra-powerful image at the end is Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, another masterpiece from the 90's.I just cannot imagine loving some other film maker's work more than Takeshi's, and he is among the greatest cinematic artist I know, and it is not a surprise he's from Japan, since Asian film makers are usually the most personal and stunning and don't have any restrictions for their work like in Hollywood film makers usually have as they have to keep the ratings and commercial things in mind.
And finally, Kitano has a great deal of sympathy & loyalty to his former partner & friend crippled in a wheelchair.In typical Kitano fashion he decides to rob a bank, pay off his debts to the local Yakuza warlords and spend the rest of the money on his crippled friend, Horibe; Tanaka's young widow and Kitano's dying wife.Being a big fan of Kitano I wasn't disappointed by the style of the movie.
His directional trademarks are visible through most of his films: flowers, beach scenes, picturesque landscapes, beautiful & haunting music (by the ever dependable Jo Hisaishi); face-to-camera shots and of course a sense of helplessness & defeatism within the lead actors themselves.But what I wasn't quite prepared for was the melodrama & pathos the film revealed to me.
Unlike most of his other "gangster/police" movies such as Brother, Sonatine & Violent Cop, the violence seems secondary to the moving, sometimes harrowing scenes of Kitano & Miyuki holidaying together, trying to relive some of their past love & passion for each but only to find there is nothing but loss & grief.Kitano shows a great range of emotions in this film: from being a tough & very unforgiving man with his dealings with the Yakuza (the violence is sharp, sudden & very graphic).
While at other times he is a man totally lost in a world of sorrow & pity, a man who finds it hard to grieve, to own up to his mistakes & guilt, a man who only now realises how much he will miss his wife after spending so many years staying away & not appreciating her needs whilst doing his job in the police.The ending is absolutely gut-wrenching, but to be honest it was of no real surprise since there are similar outcomes in most of Kitano's films, especially Violent Cop & Sonatine.The cinematography is absolutely outstanding, coupled with the haunting score of Jo Hisaishi (who also did the score for my favourite Kitano film, Sonatine).
But the support from Kayoko Kishimoto (Miyuki), Ren Osugi (Horibe) & Yûko Daike (Tanaka's widow) is truly excellent and never weighs the movie down with too much manufactured & false melodrama so typical of Hollywood (especially movies starring Robin Williams).As I said at the beginning of this review I had to see this film at least three times before I felt compelled to write about it, such is the power & strength within this film.
Kitano's humanity is very redeeming  & reveals to our Western eyes the true values of Japanese tradition & family relationships, especially with regards loyalty, friendship, love & coming to terms with one's guilt.I recommend this film to anyone who takes an interest in movies of this kind.
In HANA-BI, silence speaks louder than effects of any kind.The film touches on aspects of life and living -- relationships of working partners, husband and wife, and being human.
Writer/director/star Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) is best known in Japan as a comedian and TV personality, so this movie is even more astonishing to outsiders like myself.
Takeshi Kitano remains one of the finest actors in cinema, most film viewers were introduced to his acting after watching Battle Royale, which has had a huge effect of his recognition.
"Fireworks" of 1997 is a sad, funny, violent, melancholic, brilliant film, an absolute masterpiece which is, in my opinion, one of the best movies of the 90s.
Hardly ever have I seen a movie which is this memorable and unique in both its tragic and its funny moments, as it is the case with this ingenious work of art.I am a big fan of director Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the leading part (as 'Beat' Takeshi) in this, and "Hana-bi" is my personal favorite of his movies.Yoshitaka Nishi (Kitano) is a mostly calm, but occasionally irascible and ultra-violent cop, whose wife Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto) is terminally ill of leukemia.
In order to help Horibe, who is now in a wheelchair, and the dead police officer's widow, and in order to make the remaining time as comfortable as possible for his wife, Nishi, who also owes money to the Yakuza, needs money and he is determined to acquire it.There is no doubt in my mind that Takeshi Kitano is an absolute genius, which he has proved by writing and directing this masterpiece.
Nobody else could have played the role of Nishi with such brilliance as 'Bito' Takeshi Kitano, who rarely says a word in the first half of the film and is (nevertheless or therefore) absolutely impressive in his role of the cop with the constant poker face, which typical for Kitano.
By the way, the impressionist and very original pictures which are shown occasionally throughout the movie were also painted by Kitano himself.The rest of the acting is also great, Ren Osugi delivers a particularly memorable performance as Horibe, Nishi's partner who is struck by fate and has to live in a wheel chair, and Kayoko Kishimoto is great in the lovable role of Nishi's dying wife.An absolute genius as a writer, director and actor, Takeshi Kitano is without doubt one of the greatest cinematic multi-talents alive, as far as I am concerned he is one of the greatest cinematic multi-talents who have ever lived.
Despite a backlog of excellent films ("Violent Cop", "Sonatine", "A Scene By The Sea", etc), the reason "Hana-Bi" stands out as arguably the finest is that it so beautifully captures a personal time in Kitano's life and blends some of the more eloquent features of his persona not heavily represented in his other works.
That title alone; "Hana-Bi" (In Japanese, combining 'fireworks' with 'sunflower') represents an almost poetic change in Kitano cinema, conveying a combination of sub-meanings and representations making the film strongly multi-layered with many possibilities for interpretation.Kitano gives one of the best performances in his career as Nishi, the hardened cop looking after his dieing wife.
The numerous scenes of Horibe seated infront of Kitano's token sea-view, staring silently with Joe Hisaishi's fantastic score soaring over the top conveys more emotion and moves the audience to tears in a way words never could.
His dialogue is irregular, yet powerful, and his distinctive taste of visual style combined with beautiful music and emotionally rich characters creates further emotional intensity within film, powerful cinema which is undoubtedly absent in recent Hollywood works.I have read that Kitano films are an acquired audience taste, and not suited to everyone.
It is certainly a film which needs to be viewed many times, as although the first time will leave you stunned, watching the film further allows you to notice more subtle qualities, as well as experience the film again.In closing, I hope that wider audiences will experience the power of Kitano's work, and in particular, "Hana-Bi" It is a film unlike any other you will see, and no review can do it justice.
Nishi can find no peace, though, more so as he has borrowed money from the Yakuza to pay for his wife's needs, and they are growing impatient for the repayment...Very early in Kitano's superb slice of Japanese neo-noir there is a piece of graffiti on the wall, it says "Drop Dead", while Hisaishi's music is a devilish accompaniment to the scene.
Pic is deliberately paced, beautifully so, with the opening nonlinear approach and scattergun shifts in time adding a sort of psychological maelstrom to the impending narrative darkness.Yet to suggest it as a perpetually bleak picture is doing it a small disservice, for Kitano (himself working from a damaged psyche that occurred in real life) has this adroit eye for poetic beauty and human tenderness that marries up with bursts of violence and emotionally shattering passages of play.
To which we edge towards the finale, which unsurprisingly brings beauty and infinite sadness.Unfussy camera work, sabre sharp editing (Kitano & Yoshinori Oota), elegiacal musical arrangements, art, kites and Kitano's intense performance, this rounds out as film making greatness.
Kitano's Hana-bi is something quite special, a film where images of violence and beauty are juxtaposed.
It truly has everything a masterpiece needs - excellent actors (Susumu Terajima,Ren Osugi and Takeshi Kitano himself - the usual "Kitano crew"), perfect directing, awesome plot and script, and a unique atmosphere, which is created by a mix of sorrow and joy, drama and humor , violence and love, which properly balanced create this great movie.
A true artist in the best sense, Kitano mixes stunning imagery, a beautiful score and moving performances to help remind us  why we love the movies.
Blaming himself Nishi tries to do the right thing by his partner Horibe and the widow of cop, while also trying to salvage some happiness in what remains of his time with his wife.I came back to Takeshi Kitano about the same time as I left the Movies You Should See podcast.
The film does wear this aspect a little heavily at times and some will feel that some sequences are right on the edge of being pretentious and there is no point in denying that it does walk this line here and there.However for the majority it is a really well observed and emotionally engaging story built on the silent but emotive presence of Kitano as writer, director and star.
Osugi is not that great and it is with his character that I found the film close to being pretentious, not the actor's fault of course but I never felt for him as I did for Nishi.Hana-Bi is very slow and quiet and I can totally understand why some viewers will throw it in very early on.
Takeshi Kitano also proves he is nothing short of a brilliant actor as well - and I think he plays one of the best "tough guys with a heart" character anywhere..
The narrative is non-linear and the story's structure is constantly prey to the emotions of the cop.'Beat' Takeshi is both the star as well as the director of this acclaimed Japanese film.
The way the past and the thoughts of the characters are revealed feel sometimes so natural, it is just like if the spectator were on the terrain, not in front of a screen; quite often, the order of the scenes is structured as Nishi's thought, involving even more the spectator in the movie.
Starring Takeshi Kitano, a hard boiled cop who ties up all the loose ends of his life, from his dying wife, his crippled ex-partner, to paying his debts.
I recommend this movie to anyone who loves foreign films, a little violence, and a whole lot of heart ache.
There are a lot of blood and it is the Kitano violence that i really love about his movie's but of course also the little use of dialougs.Thank You very much for a master work Takeshi Kitano!!!!.
Very clever film, there is an awful lot going om here and it's well worth sticking the duration for.A rather more personal film than some of his other efforts, hana-bi is beautifully shot, plays like a dream and sounds like they got the angels in to score the soundtrack.The movie makes you contemplate life and existence is the same way meditation does, it takes you away from the hustle and bustle of life whilst simultaniously placing you directly in the middle of an uncontrollable force.
Those who have watched the film will however, discover the great irony of this need to perpetuate survival, at the film's tragic yet liberating ending.There is also a very touching love story between the unfortunate cop and his ailing wife.
This has undoubtedly got to be  Beat's finest moment to date and must be watched by all those who pride themselves as being true afficionados of cinema.Truly a landmark in film making and a fine reason not to spend good hard-earned money on Hollywood (and especially Bollywood)insults..
The movie is about a cop in Japan who leaves the police to spend more time with his wife who is dying of cancer, and if that was not enough to bare with, he also lost a kid and his partner gets shot and paralyzed on the job.
Now that I have seen Hana-bi my obsession has begun to watch all of Kitano Takeshi's films.
However, after having seen Hani-bi last weekend, I have to say that Takeshi Kitano is one of Japan's great film directors - a modern day Kon Ichikawa.
They don't focus on why the violence occurs nor its build up, but choose to follow its aftermath and the how the repercussions effect its victims and those connected to the victims.For those interested in his work, I suggest starting with either Brother, Violent Cop or Boiling Point to ease you into the unique plotting and pace of Takeshi's crime films..
Stoic, yet full of emotion, Takeshi Kitano nails his portrayal or Nishi, the hard-boiled cop with a terminally ill wife.I am a firm believer that a good movie needs 3 ingredients to be worth watching; appropriate music, an interesting story to tell and appropriate filmography.
It's here that the film parts into two narratives: that of Horibe, who must grapple with his new condition, and of Nishi, who has to repay the yakuza and deal with his wife's inevitable demise.Make no mistake, this isn't an Asian action movie.
I have seen many say that Hana-bi is Kitanos best film, but I would probably disagree and say Sonatine is.
They are full of beautiful metaphors to give colour to such trivial stories, realistic characters like Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) and off course, poetic visuals.
Just as most (at least from which I've already seen) Kitano's films it's a violent, sad and touching story with very sad ending and a pinch of black humour (or at least it looked like that), and that's what I love in his films.
It's portrayal of the existential absurdities in life make the violence seem more brutal and give the moments of tenderness he and his wife share their heart-warming beauty.This film reminded me of why I love cinema..
To add to all this the performances all-round are superb especially Kitano's violent yet just as quiet and sensitive main character, whose own personality is the perfect description of the films style and emphasis on both violence and subtlety.
Much of the film concerns a cop named Yoshitaka Nishi (Kitano), who is forced to retire after a shooting on the job leaves his partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), paralysed, alone and confined to a wheelchair.
This is complemented by the relationship of Nishi and his wife - also quite still and sad - as they endeavour to make their last few moments together the best moments of their lives but always tainted with the knowledge that it will all come to an end, and very soon.In typical Takeshi style this grace and beauty is contrasted by scenes of brutal violence.
Not knowing quite what to expect and having the whimsical images of Kikujiro still in my head, I was a bit disappointed with the film when I watched it the first time, but after repeated viewings and having viewed most films in which he has directed and/or acted has given me a greater appreciation of the film which many still consider Kitano's masterpiece.A very quiet and sometimes brutal man, Nishi works alongside his partner Horibe to keep crime, yakuza, down in the streets of Tokyo.
Also, some of the most beautiful moments of this film occur between Nishi and his wife Miyuki.
Not only are not narrative rules respected, but the logic of the film lies more in the emotions of the main character, with the temporal plan interleaved with flashbacks that eventually put everything in place, and with elements of plastic art, in a very Japanese way.Director and lead actor Takeshi Kitano have already made us face some of the other tough cops or stone faced samurais.
An amazing film with an amazing story and an amazing background, because I haven´t seen any movie which tells a plot about deep love and self-sacrifice more moving than "Hana-bi" does!