Kikujirô no natsu (1999)

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

26 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro hardly seems the ideal companion for little Masao who...

Plot Keywords:

Travel | Road Movie | Road | Bicycle Race | Love

Awards:

4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Kikujiro (as Beat Takeshi)
Yusuke Sekiguchi	...	Masao
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Kikujiro's Wife
Yûko Daike	...	Masao's Mother
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Masao's Grandmother
Beat Kiyoshi	...	Man at Bus Stop
Gurêto Gidayû	...	Biker / Fatso
Rakkyo Ide	...	Biker / Baldy
Nezumi Mamura	...	Traveling Man
Fumie Hosokawa	...	Juggler Girl
Akaji Maro	...	Scary Man
Daigaku Sekine	...	Yakuza Boss
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Makoto Inamiya	...	Yakuza Henchman
Hisahiko Murasawa	...	Yakuza Henchman
Fuyu Ooba	...	Hostess
Shûji Ôtsuki
Yôji Tanaka	...	Yakuza Henchman

Also Known As:

Kikujiro (Japan) (short title)
Kikujiro no natsu (Japan: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for a threatening incident.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | South Korea:All | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 (VET id: 101474) | France:U | Hong Kong:IIA | New Zealand:M | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Quotes:

Kikujiro: You're a farmer, huh?
Man at Bus Stop: No, no. I'm a banker.
Kikujiro: You're kidding. With a face like that?

Movie Connections:

References Stand by Me (1986)

Soundtrack:

Summer

A wonderful, delightful movie

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. Along the way they meet a whole host of characters. 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. In my opinion Beat Takeshi's efforts blow Sophia Coppola's out of the water.

Nine out of ten.