Kikujiro (1999)

A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano

Stars:

Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Takeshi Kitano	...	Kikujiro (as Beat Takeshi)
Yusuke Sekiguchi	...	Masao
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Kikujiro's Wife
The Great Gidayû	...	Biker (as Gurêto Gidayû)
Rakkyo Ide	...	Biker's Friend
Akaji Maro	...	Crazy Man
Yûko Daike	...	Masao's Mother
Fumie Hosokawa	...	Juggler Girl
Nezumi Imamura	...	An-chan
Beat Kiyoshi	...	Man at Bus Stop (as Bîto Kiyoshi)
Daigaku Sekine	...	Yakuza Boss
Yoji Tanaka	...	Yakuza Henchman
Makoto Inamiya	...	Yakuza Henchman
Hisahiko Murasawa	...	Yakuza Henchman
Tarou Suwata	...	Stall-keeper

Storyline

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro hardly seems the ideal companion for little Masao who is determined to travel long distances to see the mother he has never met. Their excursion to the cycle races is the first of a series of adventures for the unlikely pair which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and odd ball characters to meet along the way.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | anti hero | nightmare | thug | violence | 

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a threatening incident

Did You Know?

Trivia

The football uniform the kid is wearing to the practice where he is the only one there is one of the Dutch national team's away game outfits.

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Goofs

Around 00:42:09, when the man is jumping down, we can see the ground moving up, so it's a fake one.

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Quotes

Kikujiro: [to the teenagers who have stolen Masao's lunch money] Hand over more money or I'll kill you guys!
Kikujiro's Wife: Quit playing gangster!

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Crazy Credits

There's one more scene after the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Unique Congratulation (2014)

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Soundtracks

Summer
Written by Joe Hisaishi

User Reviews

A sweet family film from Kitano.

Kikujiro (1999) is a tale about a little boy who so desperately wants to see his mother. He's accompanied on the trip by an old rascal named Kikujiro. The two make an unlikely pair of traveling companions. It's a sweet film and an interesting change of pace for Takeshi Kitano. He plays

with more of his comedic side in this picture. I enjoyed this movie very much. A fun trip down memory lane. Kitano shows that he can be humorous and light hearted as well as he is hard-boiled and stoic. Recommended.

A

Details

Official Sites:

official Sony Pictures Classic (American Site)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kikujiro

Filming Locations:

Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,079, 28 May 2000

Gross USA:

$200,920

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$461,259

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bandai Visual Company, Nippon Herald Films, Office Kitano

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1