Fireworks (1997)
"Hana-bi" (original title)

A police officer leaves the force in the face of harrowing personal and professional difficulties. Spiraling into a depression he makes questionable decisions.

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano

Stars:

Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ren Ohsugi

22 wins & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takeshi Kitano	...	Yoshitaka Nishi (as 'Beat' Takeshi)
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Miyuki, Nishi's wife
Ren Ohsugi	...	Horibe
Susumu Terajima	...	Nakamura
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Tesuka
Hakuryu	...	Yakuza Hitman
Yasuei Yakushiji	...	Criminal
Tarô Itsumi	...	Kudo
Ken'ichi Yajima	...	Doctor
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Tanaka
Yûko Daike	...	Tanaka's widow
Tsumami Edamame	...	Businessman Throwing Rocks
Yûrei Yanagi	...	Chef #1
Sujitarô Tamabukuro	...	Chef #2
Tokio Seki	...	Old Hick

Storyline

Nishi is a cop whose wife is slowly dying of Leukemia. One of his partners gets shot on the job and is confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life and becomes suicidal. Nishi, feeling guilt over his partners accident, tries to help him in any way he can. At the same time, Nishi leaves the police force to spend more time with his dying wife. However, in order to do the right things for those he loves, Nishi must do wrong things. Spiraling deeper into desperation and slowly building up to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

police | guilt | leukemia | police investigation | blood | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

20 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fireworks

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$59,508 (USA) (20 March 1998)

Gross:

$233,986 (USA) (10 April 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Office Kitano, TV Tokyo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Japanese title translates into 'Fireworks", but if you look further into the basis of the Japanese character for 'fireworks', you will see that it is composed of two smaller words - 'fire' and 'flower'. And like the linguistic basis of the title, the story and style of "Hana-Bi" is the synthesis of two opposing images, one being an agent of destruction, and the other a symbol of birth and renewal.

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Quotes

Horibe: Work is all I've ever known.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cure (1997)

User Reviews

A Japanese masterpiece

Kitano's Hana-bi is something quite special, a film where images of violence and beauty are juxtaposed. The violence is deadly, but certainly not gratuitous or pointless. The beauty is the love story, the happiness between a cop and his wife.

There are 3 main stories in the picture, each one given the time it deserves. The film is beautiful to watch, the camera work is slick and amazing.

The direction is faultless and no frame is wasted. The film's images speak out, they are very powerful. The long silences add so much to the film, the director really knew what he was doing.

The screenplay is almost in the shadow of the awe-inspiring images, but does give the picture a deserving foundation!

The performances are 101% perfect, very authentic!

The film's musical score is beautiful, it feels very isolated from the images which only adds to the raw ambience, it's perfect!

This is a Japanese masterpiece, see it in wide-screen!