Kikujirô no natsu (1999)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

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
Yuuko Daike	...	Masao's Mother
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Masao's Grandmother
Beat Kiyoshi	...	Man at Bus Stop
Great Gidayu	...	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
Yoji Tanaka	...	Yakuza Henchman

Directed by
Takeshi Kitano

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Takeshi Kitano		written by

Produced by
Shinji Komiya	....	line producer
Masayuki Mori	....	producer
Takio Yoshida	....	producer

Original Music by
Joe Hisaishi

Cinematography by
Katsumi Yanagijima

Film Editing by
Takeshi Kitano
Yoshinori Oota

Casting by
Takefumi Yoshikawa

Production Design by
Tatsuo Ozeki

Art Direction by
Norihiro Isoda

Production Management
Akira Yamamoto	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hiroshi Shimizu	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Senji Horiuchi	....	sound designer
Akira Nakano	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Hitoshi Takaya	....	lighting designer

Music Department
Makoto Morimoto	....	music producer
Shunji Tsuchikawa	....	music producer
Akira Watanabe	....	music producer

Other crew
Hideko Nakada	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Nippon Herald Films
• Office Kitano
• Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co.

Distributors

• Atalanta Filmes (1999) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• BIM Distribuzione (1999) (Italy) (theatrical)
• EDKO Film (2000) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (1999) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Líder Films (2000) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Océan Films (1999) (France) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Channel Neko (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Cult Filmes (Brazil) (video)
• Gativideo (2001) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Prem'er Video Fil'm (Russia) (DVD)
• Prem'er Video Fil'm (Russia) (VHS)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (all media)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2000) (USA) (subtitled)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2003) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Aoi Studio  post-production sound studio
• Continental Far East  Dolby consultant
• Kodak Japan  film stock supplied by
• NAC Image Technology  camera equipment supplied by
• NK Tokki  grip equipment supplied by
• Nihon Shomei Co.  lighting equipment supplied by
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  film processing
• Yoshikawa Casting Office  casting

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:

Masao: By the way, Mister, what is your name?
Kikujiro: It's Kikujiro, dammit.

Movie Connections:

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Soundtrack:

Summer

Exactly what you'd hope for when the most insane/creative/unique director on earth decides to make a family film!

An extremely enjoyable movie!!! It focuses on a kid who lives with his grandmother, trying to go meet his real mother. Takishe is forced to accompany the child in order to ensure a safe trip. Luckily he screwed up & misbehaved in a wide assortment of hilarious situations.

Definitely recommended as an enjoyable movie to watch for everyone. There is enough unique visuals and interesting situations to easily entertain any first time viewer.

The dialog is also extremely light, no 10 minute conversations or useless stuff like that. So dont let the subtitles deter you from viewing the movie.