Takeshis' (2005)

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

5 November 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

500% Kitano - nothing to add!

Plot:

Beat Takeshi, a prominent actor, meets a lookalike named Kitano, who is a struggling actor, but after the meeting, Kitano's dreams take a violent, surreal turn.

Plot Keywords:

Machine Gun | Shoot | Repeated Line | Director | Blood

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Beat Takeshi / Mr. Kitano (as Beat Takeshi)
Kotomi Kyono	...	Takeshi's Girl Friend / Kitano's Female Neighbor
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Mahjong Parlor Woman / Audition Producer / Customer
Ren Osugi	...	Takeshi's Manager / Taxi Driver
Susumu Terajima	...	Takeshi's Friend / Kitano's Yakuza Neighbor
Tetsu Watanabe	...	TV Wardrobe Master / Noodle Cook / Audition Actor
Akihiro Miwa	...	Himself
Naomasa Musaka
Kôichi Ueda
Tsutomu Takeshige
Beat Kiyoshi
Junya Takaki	...	Himself
Shôgo Kimura
Kanji Tsuda
Makoto Ashikawa

Also Known As:

Fractal (Japan) (working title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:18A | Hong Kong:IIB | Australia:MA (2007) | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-18

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivia:

The audience at the 2006 Venice Film Festival was very confused and frustrated about the film. But Kitano had warned the audience ahead, asking them not to attempt to analyze the film, but instead, just to let go and feel the film, and in the press conference afterwards, Kitano said that he wanted audiences to come out of this film not knowing what to say or what to think.

Quotes:

Beat Takeshi: That guy... the one who looks like me. What could his life be like?

Movie Connections:

References "Shakugan no Shana" (2005)

brilliant ideas, little cohesion

The film has a lot of potential, with tons of funny and impressive scenes and situations, characters who are made complete and alive with only a few brush strokes. It starts off as a wry satirical depiction of Japan's TV land and "Jollywood," and becomes increasingly surrealistic as it moves along (I'm using the word moves very loosely, as I couldn't see much plot development). It's Takeshi's 8 1/2, referencing a lot of the director/performer/producer's earlier work and showing his agony as artist and celebrity... There were also references to several classics (Scorcese's Taxi Driver comes to mind, for one) I'm only giving it a 4, as the last third of the film falls apart in a jumble of disjointed scenes, some of which remain too static too long.

I felt that Takeshi's contained enough stuff for several enjoyable movies, but a lot of it went to waste and was repeated ad nauseam. I think viewers could have a better experience with this movie if they were prepared to sit back and relax, enjoying eye candy and little bits thrown on the screen. To expect a follow-able plot would be a big mistake!