With friends we watched Hana-bi (1997), a movie by Takeshi "Beat" Kitano, one of Japan's best film directors. The title is Japanese for "fireworks", litteraly: flower-fire. Kitano is playing often in his own movies. In Hana-bi he is a yakuza-gangster, who is hanging around with his comrades doing nothing special, except for some killings of opponents every now and then.

His wife is terminally ill, so the doctor advises them to spend some last happy times together. The couple hardly speaks to eachother. In fact the woman doesnt says anything until the very end of the movie.

Kitano is also famous in Japan as a comedian, writer, poet and painter (many of Kitano's painting are shown in Hana-bi).

I had seen the movie before, but forgot most of it. Personally i liked other Kitano movies even better: Kids return (about two boxing kids, one going the good direction, the other going the wrong direction in life), Sonatine (also about Yakuza) and Kikujiro no natsu (a rare Kitano movie without violence, could be a children's movie).

como ya os habréis imaginado los que llevéis un tiempo leyéndonos, soy un incondicional fan del país del Sol Naciente, Tekeshi Kitano y las bromas que hacen allí...

Hoy os traigo otra broma del compi Takeshi de las que en cualquier país del mundo acabarían en pena de cárcel para el que las perpetrase... las caras de la gente son de traca...

Una cosa tengo clara... si algún día voy a Japón, antes reviento que entrar en un baño público... que cabrones!!!

El vídeo se divide en dos partes, la segunda de las cuales añade un elemento a la ecuación de la broma más gracioso todavía...

Lo mejor es ver a Takeshi Kitano y Cia en la pantallita de abajo partiéndose el ojaldre... que jefes!

SALUDOS!!!

The 65th Venice International Film Festival, one of the most prestigious in the world with Cannes and Berlin, closed on September 6th. While Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler won the festival's biggest prize, if you take a look at all the "collateral awards", quite a few films emerge.

Thus the Italian film Giovanna's Father and the Ethiopian filmTeza both garnered 5 awards while the Italian Pranzo Di Ferragosto, the American The Hurt Locker, and the Italian/French/Romanian Pa-ra-da collected 4 awards each. Additionally, the Italian documentary Below Sea Level won 3 awards and the Russian Paper Soldier, the American Vegas: Based On A True Story, the Sri Lankan Machan, the Japanese Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea and the French films Stella and L'Apprenti each got 2 awards.

View the full list of winners right here:

Main Prizes

Golden Lion for best film: Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler

Silver Lion for best director: Aleksei German MI. for Paper Soldier (Bumaznyj Soldat)

Special Jury Prize: Haile Gerima's Teza

Coppa Volpi for best actor: Silvio Orlando in Giovanna's Father (Il Papà Di Giovanna)

Coppa Volpi for best actress: Dominique Blanc in L'Autre

Marcello Mastroianni Prize for best emerging actor or actress: Jennifer Lawrence in Burning Plain

Osella for best cinematography: Alisher Khamidhodjaev and Maxim Drozdov for Paper Soldier

Osella for best screenplay: Haile Gerima for Teza

Special Lion for overall work: Werner Schroeter

Luigi De Laurentis Award for debut film: Gianni Di Gregorio's Pranzo Di Ferragosto

Horizon Prizes

Premio Orizzonti: Lav Diaz's Melancholia

Premio Orizzonti Doc: Gianfranco Rosi's Below Sea Level

Special Mention to: Philippe Grandrieux's Un Lac and Huang Wenhai's Women

Short Film Prizes

Golden Lion for best short film: Carlos Armella's Tierra Y Pan

Special Mention to: Karchi Perlmann's Vascora

U.I.P. Award for best European short film: Joost Van Ginkel's Zand

Collateral Awards after the jump

Collateral Prizes

FIPRESCI Award for best film: Tariq Teguia's Inland (Gabbla)

FIPRESCI Award for best film in the Horizons and International Critics' Week: Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo

SIGNIS Award for best film: Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker

SIGNIS Special Mention to: Amir Naderi's Vegas: Based On A True Story and Haile Gerima's Teza

International Critics' Week best film: Samuel Collardey's L'Apprenti

SNGCI Award for best film: Gianni Di Gregorio's Pranzo Di Ferragosto

SNGCI Special Mention to: Marco Pontecorvo's Pa-ra-da

SNGCI Award for best actor: Silvio Orlando in Giovanna's Father

SNGCI Award for best actress: Isabella Ferrari in A Perfect Day (Un Giorno Perfetto)

Isvema Award for debut or seond film: Gianni Di Gregorio's Pranzo Di Ferragosto

Label Europa Cinemas Award for best film: Uberto Pasolini's Machan

Sicily Film Commission Doc/it Award: Gianfranco Rosi's Below Sea Level

Sicily Film Commission Doc/it Special Mention to: Samuel Collardey's L'Apprenti

Golden Lion Cub Award for best film: Pupi Avati's Giovanna's Father

Cinema for UNICEF commendation: Haile Gerima's Teza

Art Cinema Award: Mikhail Kalatozishvili's Wild Field

Venice Cinema Award: Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker

Enrico Fulchignoni Award: Marco Bechis' Birdwatchers (La Terra Degli Uomini Rossi)

Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Special Award: Sylvie Verheyde's Stella

Biografilm Lancia Award for best fiction: Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married

Biografilm Lancia Award for best documentary: Gianfranco Rosi's Below Sea Level

Nazareno Taddei Award: Pupi Avati's Giovanna's Father

Don Gnocchi Award: Marco Pontecorvo's Pa-ra-da

Don Gnocchi Special Mention to: Ezio Greggio in Giovanna's Father

Future Film Festival Digital Award: Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers

Future Film Festival Digital Special Mention to: Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea (Gake No Ue No Ponyo)

Brian Award: Bahman Mo'tamedian's Khastegi

Queer Lion Award: Stefano Tummolini's Un Altro Pianeta

Lanterna Magica Award: Marco Pontecorvo's Pa-ra-da

CinemAvvenire best film: Amir Naderi's Vegas: Based On A True Story

CinemAvvenire Peace & Diversity Award: Haile Gerima's Teza

FEDIC Award: Uberto Pasolini's Machan

Bastone Bianco Award: Takeshi Kitano's Achilles And The Tortoise (Achilles To Kame)

Human Rights Film Network Award: Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker

Arca Cinemagiovani Award for best film: Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker

Arca Cinemagiovani Award for best Italian film: Gianni Di Gregorio's Pranzo Di Ferragosto

Arca Cinemagiovani Altre Visioni Award: Yeo Joon Han's Sell Out!

EIUC Human Rights Film Award: Akram Barmak's Kabuli Kid

Lina Mangiacapre Award: Sylvie Verheyde's Stella

Air For Film Fest Award: Marco Pontecorvo's Pa-ra-da

Open Award: Philip Haas' The Butcher's Shop

Poveri Ma Belli Award: Paolo Benvenuti's Puccini E La Fanciulla

Mimmo Rotella Foundation Award: Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea

Der Titel spielt dabei auf die Fabel von Achilles und der Schildkröte an, die besagt, dass trotz landläufiger Meinung ein rennender Mensch, rein rechnerisch, eine mit Vorsprung kriechende Schildkröte nie einholen würde.

Ähnlich verhält es sich mit der Karriere der Hauptfigur in Kitanos Film Machisu. Wir begleiten den Waisenjungen Machisu, welcher eine Leidenschaft für die Kunst entwickelt und später versucht, sich als Maler einen Namen zu machen. Der Film begleitet Machisu durch sein Leben von der Kindheit bis zum Alter mit allen Höhen und Tiefen.

Kitano ist ein poetischer und witziger Film über die Kunst gelungen, es ist aber in erster Linie eine leidenschaftliche Hommage an einen obsessiven Künstler. Der mit seinen aberwitzigsten Experimente extreme Wege geht um kreativ zu werden. (Alle Bilder im Film sind originale Kitanos!)

Bereits in HANA - BI, der 1997 den Goldenen Löwen in Venedig gewann, zeigte Takeshi Kitano seine selbstgemalten Bilder. Für einen Goldenen Löwen reichtes diesmal nicht, dafür wurde Achilles und der Schildkröte mit den Kritiker Preis "Bastone Bianco" ausgezeichnet.

Trailer + offiziellen Website zum Film von Office Kitano

Igen, azt kell mondjam, Kitano barátunk ismét megcsinálta. Pedig a közönségpremier a Sala Grande-ben nem valami fényesen indult (arról nem is beszélve, hogy egy néző állítólag megfulladt az aznap délelőtti sajtóvetítésen). Szóval miután Kitano bejött, szépen megtapsolták, majd lement a Venezia 65 szignálja (ami - zárójelben jegyezném meg - elég gyengécskére sikeredett, a mi tavalyi Titanicunk szpotja bejövősebb volt mint ez), aztán elindult végre a film, azaz hogy csak indult volna, mert néhány képkocka után se kép, se hang, a projektor váratlanul felmondta a szolgálatot. Villany fel, mindenki zavartan nézegetett hátrafelé, hogy mi a jóisten történt. Persze Kitano barátunk jó ázsiaihoz méltóan nyugodtan tűrte a kínos pillanatokat. A leggázabb az az volt, amikor úgy kb. negyedóra projektorbuherálás elteltével a szokásos, bájos női hang bejelentette, hogy mindenki foglaljon helyet, a vetítés mindjárt kezdődik... Na ezt már nem bírtam ki röhögés nélkül. :) A technika ördöge nyilván bármikor közbeszólhat (lásd a saját példámat), de azért mégiscsak Európa második legnagyobb filmfesztiváljának egyik premiervetítéséről van szó.

Na de elég a rizsából, nézzük a filmet! A komikus elemekkel tűzdelt morbid dráma címe egy ókori görög filozófus, Zénón egyik paradoxonjára utal, miszerint Akhilleusz nem érheti utol a teknőst, ha az adott neki néhány méter előnyt, mivel ha egyet lép, akkor a teknős pont annyit halad előre, hogy éppen ne érje utol (mindez a kezdő képsorokban matematikailag szépen le is van vezetve a kételkedők számára meglehetősen humoros formában).

Egy Machisu nevezetű született művésztehetség sztoriját követhetjük végig a problémás gyermekkortól kezdve a felnőtté váláson át egészen az idős korig. Maga a film egy megkattant, kizárólag a művészetének élő festő önmagára találásának folyamatát meséli el meglehetősen extrém állomásokkal ábrázolva a művészi fejlődést. Bár azért tegyük hozzá, hogy a történet eléggé sablonosan indul: 6-7 éves forma különc gyerkőccel ismerkedünk meg, akinek eltökélt szándéka, hogy mindenáron festő lesz. A szülői háttér meglehetősen tragikus: a család vállalkozása csődbe ment, papa-mama öngyilkos lett stb. A srác egy rokonhoz kerül, ahol a folyamatos tiltás csak jobban felerősíti benne a festészet iránti vágyat. Majd néhány évvel később aztán egy művészeti suli hallgatójaként, szintén kellően elborult társaival együtt a lehető legabszurdabb módokon próbál kitörni a festészet illetve a házirend kötött szabályai közül.

Az extrém, önmaga korlátaival való kísérletezgetés (vajon meddig tolható ki a művészet határa?), a harmadik szegmensben - ahol Kitano már maga játssza az idős korba lépő figurát - csak tovább fokozódik. Nézzük a pasas próbálkozásait, melyek egyszerre szánalomra méltóak és szomorúak, mégis morbidan komikus az egész. A sztori eddig sem volt mentes az éjfekete humortól, de ami ebben a részben következik, az feltehetően az érzékenyebb nézők gyomrát elég rendesen meg fogja feküdni. Semmi problémám nincs az elborult és beteg történetekkel, de Kitano konkrétan egy jelenettel szerintem túllőtt a célon (csak érzékeltetésképpen: van benne egy női hulla meg egy darab rúzs, a többit a képzeletetekre bízom). "This is a story about cruel art" - fogalmaz Kitano. Khm, nos igen, van benne valami.

A zeneszerzőnek külön piros pont jár, nagyon jól sikerült score-t sikerült alkotnia. Olyat, mely az ideális OST-hez méltóan teljes mértékben visszaadja a film keserédes, melankolikus, viszont korántsem hétköznapi hangulatát. Nem számítottam rá, így abszolút kellemes meglepetésként ért. Ezt az albumot tutira be fogom szerezni.

Érdemes tudni egyébként, hogy Kitano maga is elismert festőnek számít hazájában, így a produkció egyfajta önéletrajzi ihletésű, személyes projektként is felfogható. Arról nem is beszélve, hogy a mester saját - nem is akármilyen - festményeit szerepelteti a filmben, ami külön kuriózumként szolgál a direktor rajongói számára.

Az Achilles to kame lassú, kimért, csendes és mély film, melyet nyugodt szívvel ajánlok mindenkinek, akit kicsit is érdekel Kitano illetve az ázsiai filmek világa. 8.5/10

Ja és még valami: nem egy hétköznapi dolog volt látni, ahogyan a vetítés utáni kb. 10 percnyi tapsvihar során a mester jól láthatóan elérzékenyült a közönség reakciójától. Na igen, az ilyen élményekért érdemes filmfesztiválokra járni!

* * *

Holnap megnézzük, hogy Charlize Theron és Kim Basinger mit alkotott a The Burning Plain-ben, illetve hogy Arriaga miként boldogult Iñárritu nélkül.

Film.it intervista Takeshi Kitano: faccia a faccia con una delle vere icone made in Japan, diventato leggenda anche nel resto del mondo. Lavorerà mai ad Hollywood?... Scopritelo con noi.

Noi lo conosciamo soprattutto per i suoi lavori cinematografici, ma in Giappone è un'altra storia. Takeshi Kitano è un vero entertainer, un'icona dello spettacolo. In Italia è possibile rivedere sul satellite le trasmissioni comiche che aveva creato tanti anni fa (Takeshi's Castle – da noi arrivato col titolo di "Mai dire Banzai" e la voce della Gialappa's in sottofondo).

Lo abbiamo incontrato a Venezia in esclusiva per Film.it: "Ho passato dieci anni ad interpretare serial killer e violentatori per essere preso sul serio come attore per il pubblico giapponese - ci racconta Kitano - ma non sono mai andato ad una scuola, né ho avuto un addestramento di attore. La mia recitazione è istintiva, mi sento come un Panda in uno zoo... per me non è nulla di particolare, ma la gente continua a gridarmi: “Wow... quanto sei carino!”.

Come regista si considera un artista?
Beh, questa è esattamente una delle più grandi domande che mi pongo in questo mio nuovo film. Il mio istinto mi dice che non sono quel tipo di artista ma d'altra parte: qual è la definizione di artista?

Ci parli del suo passato. Ha sempre avuto il desiderio di entrare nel mondo dello spettacolo?
No, mai. I miei genitori erano davvero duri e non mi permettevano di pensare a cose come l'arte o la letteratura. Però, è stata come una droga... più me lo proibivano e più era interessante per me.

Lei è una celebrità televisiva in Giappone. I suoi fan della Tv la seguono anche al cinema?
In Giappone, l'immagine principale che hanno di me è quella di un comico che fa film come hobby... film artistici che non diventano mai un successo.

continuate a leggere l'intervista da quì

Last night, for our DVD viewing pleasure, the fam chose another exercise in idiosyncrasy from Takeshi Kitano: his 2003 interpretation of the tried and true franchise, Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman. Now, anyone halfway familiar with the work of Kitano knows better than to expect a faithful adaptation of Shintarō Katsu's classic samurai adventures, but with Kitano, forewarned is most definately not forearmed.

Oh, fans of the Shintarō flicks will get all of their fave shticks: A sudden whoosh of Zatoichi's sword; he calmly leaves the room; a moment or two later something -- a go board, say; or a sake bottle -- falls in half. Or the scene in which some wise-apple thug thinks he can fool the poor blind guy. Hint: don't sneak up behind Zatoichi with a sword. And yes, like Toshirō Mifune's "Yojimbo" and Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name," he does a very thorough -- if messy -- job clearing a town of gangsters. The Sopranos had it easy in comparison; at least when they got whacked they stayed in one piece.

But apart from the expected Zatoichiisms, the film is all Kitano. True, he skips the moody, lingering shots of his usual work in favor of the more user-friendly short takes of pop action films, but the rest is all Kitano whimsy and non-sequitor. I'm not sure whether the many slapstick scenes serve to separate the sword fights, or whether all the sword fights serve to separate the slapstick. Probably the latter, when I consider how the film ends with everyone getting up on stage and doing a rousing tap-dance number in getas. The film sends you out with a song, so I guess that's where its heart lies: It's all in good fun, folks. Don't take the garish CGI blood spurts too seriously. See: we're all dancing!

Well, we all enjoyed the film here, but don't take our word: We're Kitano fans and allow him a whole whole whole lot of lattitude. Be warned: many human appendages go a-flying. And Kitano sure has a thing for poking out eyes, doesn't he?

La peculiar mirada del director de culto japonés Takeshi Kitano se centra en el "cruel" mundo del arte y el coleccionismo en su última película, que ha sido estrenada el jueves en el Festival de Venecia.

Achilles and the Tortoise (Aquiles y la tortuga) plantea cuestiones fundamentales sobre qué es realmente el arte y si tiene un valor real más allá de lo que representa para su creador.

Achilles and the Tortoise Trailer en Japones

Al hacerlo, se burla del mercado del arte, con un marchante sin escrúpulos que hace pasar un dibujo infantil por una obra maestra y un propietario de una galería pontificando sobre los méritos de una serie de trabajos.

La comedia, una de las tres realizaciones japonesas de las 21 a concurso en Venecia, sigue la vida de Machisu, desde que era un niño absorto en sus pinturas, pasando por ser un joven que experimenta con nuevas técnicas, hasta ser un artista de mediana edad interpretado por el propio Kitano.

La devoción de Machisu por el arte tiene consecuencias cómicas y trágicas.

Se desilusiona cuando intenta copiar el estilo de maestros anteriores, pero en su esfuerzo por algo realmente original traspasa los límites del mal gusto y flirtea con el desastre.

Machisu también aleja a quienes le rodean, con la excepción de su sufrida esposa, interpretada por Kanako Higuchi, el único personaje que comprende su obsesión.

"En la película, elegí a un pintor como personaje principal", dijo el director, de 61 años, a los periodistas, con su tono de voz pausado.

"Mis pinturas no son apreciadas por el público o la crítica, así que intenté abordar la pintura e intentar demostrar que no es necesario tener éxito como pintor", dijo, a través de un intérprete.

"Si haces algo que te gusta, siempre está bien", añadió.

Lo que Kitano dice del arte puede aplicarse también al cine, donde admite que no es lo que muchos considerarían un director con éxito comercial.

"Siempre digo que en Japón mis películas no tienen mucho éxito", dijo Kitano. "No he tenido un gran éxito en Japón pero no voy a ir totalmente a la bancarrota", añadió.

"Si mis cuentas estuvieran en números rojos, no podría seguir haciendo películas. Si las hago, es porque gano algo de dinero con mis trabajos".

Kitano es uno de los directores favoritos del circuito de festivales, y ganó el León de Oro de Venecia en 1997 por "Hana-Bi".

Kitano in Moscow en Ruso

"Achilles and the Tortoise" es la última obra de una trilogía de Kitano sobre el entretenimiento y el arte que comenzó con "Takeshis'" en 2005 y siguió con "Glory to the Filmmaker!" en 2007.

Trailer de Takeshis en Castellano

Trailer Glory to the Filmmaker en Inglés

p.s.  a chi ancora si domandasse se Takeshi Kitano-regista blasonato, sia lo stesso Takeshi che gigioneggiava vestito da figlio dei fiori versione Sgt. Pepper nella trasmissione "Takeshi's Castle"... definitivamente "SI", è lui. E allora?

Takeshi Kitano, conhecido diretor japonês e assíduo "frequentador" de nossas mostras internacionais de cinema, apresentou ontem (28/08) em Veneza seu novo filme "Akires to Kame" (Aquiles e a Tartaruga).

Seus dois outros filmes "Hana-Bi" e "Zatoichi" foram anteriormente exibidos e premiados neste festival, mas parece que o novo, uma tragicomédia sobre a arte que encerra uma trilogia sobre o cinema ("Glória ao Cineasta!") e sobre a televisão ("Takeshis"), não animou muito a platéia.

O nome do personagem principal é Machisu, inspirado em Matisse, segundo explica o diretor: "Se eu usasse o nome de um artista japonês, pouca gente ia conhecer. Pensei no MoMA, em Paris, em Picasso, Modigliani, mas o nome mais fácil para os japoneses seria Matisse, por isso escolhi".

Resenha da Folha: no começo, Machisu parece ser apenas um garoto que ama a pintura. Um menino é sempre uma promessa, uma esperança para o futuro, mas ela nem sempre se confirma. Uma série de tragédias acontece na sua vida - apesar de ser uma comédia, são muitas as mortes violentas -, e ele fica cada vez mais obcecado. Com o passar dos anos, o personagem tem dificuldades em se diferenciar e chega a extremos em nome da arte, negligenciando inclusive a segurança da família.

Filmes do diretor no Brasil

A maioria dos filmes do diretor foi lançada em DVD no Brasil, e boa parte deles foi apresentada nas Mostras Internacionais de Cinema de São Paulo e do Rio.

Em São Paulo ele esteve presente com seus filmes: 

ADRENALINA MÁXIMA e KIDS RETURN - 20ª Mostra

HANA-BI, FOGOS DE ARTIFÍCIO - 21ª Mostra

VERÃO FELIZ - 23ª Mostra

DOLLS - 26ª Mostra

ZATOICHI - 28ª Mostra

GLÓRIA AO CINEASTA! - 31ª Mostra 

O diretor também criou o cartaz da 22ª Mostra, de 1998... estou tentando achar uma imagem para publicar aqui.

Si la broma de ayer, la de las niñas viendo The Ring, os parecía pesada, la que os traigo hoy es directamente pa encerrarle...

El buen hombre fijo, fijo, que no vuelve a coger un taxi en su fucking vida...

JAJAJAJAJJA es que es verlo y se me saltan las lágrimas... que hijoputa el conductor!!!!

Vea también LA MEJOR BROMA DE LA HISTORIA

Pitt and Clooney at Venice debut

Clooney and Pitt were on the red carpet for the premiere

The Venice Film Festival has opened with the premiere of the Coen brothers' dark comedy Burn After Reading.

The film, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt, is showing out of the competition at the annual event.

Before the screening, the stars posed good-naturedly for pictures and signed autograph books for fans lining up along the red carpet.

There are 21 movies competing for the coveted Golden Lion this year, with entries from Ethiopia and Turkey.

The festival continues with a fly-on -the-wall film about fashion designer Valentino Garavani - billed as a glimpse into a world of bygone glamor.

The movie was directed and produced by special correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine, Matt Tyrnauer.

Conspiracy

Pitt and Clooney are joined by British actress Tilda Swinton in Ethan and Joel Coen's latest offering.

Clooney plays a paranoid federal marshal who gets mixed up in a conspiracy involving a former CIA analyst's missing memoirs.

Also involved are the analyst's adulterous wife, played by Swinton, and a couple of gormless gym instructors played by Pitt and Frances McDormand.

Before the premiere, Pitt picked up an award that he won in Venice last year - the best actor's prize for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.

"You can run but you can't hide," Pitt joked as he accepted the award.

"It was an honor to receive this last year and it remains an honour to accept this this year."

Among the favorites for the Golden Lion are Japanese directors Takeshi Kitano, with Achilles and the Tortoise, and Hayao Miyasaki, for the animated feature Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

The prize will be awarded on 6 September.

Other strong contenders include US director Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke, and French film-maker Barbet Schroeder's thriller L'Inju: la Bete dans l'Ombre, or The Beast in the Shadows.

“Volevo descrivere il mio conflitto come regista e personaggio televisivo, e stavolta volevo farlo tramite l’arte – dice il simpatico Kitano in conferenza stampa a Venezia, dove il suo film viene presentato nel Concorso Ufficiale - Metto in scena il lavoro dell’artista e quello che lui esprime. Ho trattato il lato oscuro dell’arte, volevamo descrivere una storia davvero crudele, l’arte vista come una droga”.

Takeshi Kitano - Zatoichi

Kitano, che nel film interpreta il protagonista in età adulta, ha messo i suoi veri dipinti davanti la macchina da presa. A tal proposito il regista mostra grande autoironia dichiarando: “I dipinti che ho utilizzato nel film sono opere mie. Non sono per niente belli, ma è stato meglio inserire questi piuttosto di utilizzare i quadri di Van Gogh e Picasso. È stato un bene per il budget del film! I miei quadri non costano nulla”. A quel punto qualcuno gli chiede se sia disposto a vendere davvero i suoi quadri: “Di solito non li vendo – risponde - quello che succede è che organizzo una lotteria tra i compratori… chi vince se lo porta via gratis!”

A proposito del film, il grande Takeshi continua: “Ho scelto un pittore come protagonista: volevo imitare la sensibilità di Van Gogh. I miei film sono sempre molto seri, però questo è stato ritenuto più serio, soprattutto dal pubblico che lo ha visto meno ironico di altri. Anche se io penso di aver sempre fatto dei giochi di umorismo come negli altri film. Ma gli spettatori che lo hanno visto in Giappone si sono commossi nel vederlo”. Ed è proprio così, "Achille e la tartaruga" riesce a toccare lo spettatore, portandolo a contatto col genio e con la follia di un'artista.

Si tratta del quarto film che il regista presenta al Festival: “A Venezia vengo ogni anno ormai - conclude Kitano -  è come se fosse diventato un ciclo di produzione dentro di me. Ho vinto due premi su quattro film presentati… non sono l’unico giapponese che partecipa, ci sono così tanti film che si candidano alla Mostra ma non vengono accettati… devo dire che è molto difficile essere accolti nel Concorso. Ma non pensate che pago i giurati sottobanco!!”

Takeshi Kitano alla conferenza stampa edizione 62 del Festival

Y en uno de esos programas de bromas japos, vi la mejor broma televisiva que he visto nunca.

Si juntas adolescentes japonesas con peli de terror y una "invitada sorpresa"... ojo a las caras cuando se empiezan a encender las luces... de traca!!!

Por cierto, que me han llegado rumores desde las más altas esferas en referencia a que una cadena española está preparando unos castings para realizar un "Humor Amarillo" con españoles, continuando el estilo de "El muro infernal", de "La Cesta", también importado del país del sol naciente. Siguiendo con los topicazos, debería llamarse "Humor Tortillo", no?

Arigato!!!

Vea también LA BROMA DEL TAXI: ESTAN LOCOS ESTOS JAPONESES

Alla Mostra di Venezia si sfideranno due film d'animazione giapponesi: "Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea" di Hayao Miyazaki e "The Sky Crawlers" di Mamoru Oshii.
Il film di Miyazaki ha già vinto in patria conquistando il record d'incassi nel primo mese di uscita.
Ora bisogna vedere a Venezia quale film otterrà maggiori consensi.
Miyazaki, dopo che qualcuno lo aveva accusato di aver realizzato un film poco comprensibile con "Il castello errante di Howl", ha voluto realizzare "un film che anche un bambino di cinque anni potesse capire. Loro non guardano con gli occhi della logica ma del sentimento".
Ed ha realizzato a mano per questo film, in un anno e mezzo, con la collaborazione del suo staff, oltre 170.000 immagini, con l'obiettivo di "sottolineare l'importanza del rispetto per la natura, soprattutto nei bambini".
Oshii Mamoru ha invece realizzato un film contro la guerra, basandosi sul romanzo di Hiroshi Mori.
"The Sky Crawlers" è infatti la storia di un mondo immaginario dove regna la pace. Ma la gente per divertirsi guarda alla televisione una "guerra-spettacolo", nella quale adolescenti combattono fino alla morte. I "Kildren", protagonisti delle guerre, sono infatti ragazzi che vivono in uno stato di eterna giovinezza, finchè non incontrano la morte sul campo di battaglia.
Chi vincerà nell'animazione giapponese?
In concorso alla Mostra c'è anche un altro film che viene dal Giappone: "Akires to Kame" di Takeshi Kitano, che racconta la storia di un pittore senza talento, che continua a dipingere i suoi quadri, pur non riuscendone a vendere nessuno, e ad inseguire i suoi sogni di gloria, sopportato dalla moglie malata.

Darren Aronofsky zeigt seinen neuen Film "The Wrestler". Mickey Rourke spielt Randy Robinson, genannt "The Ram", ein abgetretener Profiwrestler, der sich in der Independentszene fit macht und nach oben kämpft, um seinem alten Rivalen gegenüber zu treten. Trailer oder Teaser sucht man noch vergeblich. Statistenvideos geben einen Einblick in die Dreharbeiten:

Ob "The Wrestler" das Sportsentertainment als "reales" Kämpfen oder real als gescriptetes Kämpfen behandelt, ist noch Stoff für Spekulationen. Ein deutscher Starttermin steht noch nicht fest.
Stark vertreten ist in Venedig das Land des Lächelns. Der japanische Kultregisseur Takeshi Kitano kommt mit "Achilles and the Tortoise" ("Arikesu to Kame") im Gepäck. Wenig ist zu erfahren, der Trailer bislang nur in japanischer Version zu sehen:

Eine weitere Filmgröße Japans macht sich auf den Weg nach Venedig. Hayao Miyazaki präsentiert sein neues Anime-Epos "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea", dessen Trailer bereits -> hier Thema war.
Der deutsche Regisseur Christian Petzold zeigt "Jerichow" mit Nina Hoss und Benno Fürmann. Außerdem sind drei Filme mit deutscher Produktionsbeteiligung im Wettbewerb, darunter Werner Schroeters „Nuit de chien“. Ein Deutscher auch in der Jury. Mehr noch. Regisseur Wim Wenders leitet die siebenköpfige Festivaljury.
Das internationale Filmfestival von Venedig dauert bis zum 6. September.

for me, a writer who enjoys pretentious art, cynical quips, obscure references, and baseline snobbery, my eden has always been The Onion's A.V. Club. over the last 3 or 4 years, it's been the headquarters for no nonsense, no bullshit reviews of the latest Hollywood has to offer. in addition, the writers have been in the trenches at every independent film festival and concert worth writing about. running the gamut from indy rock to comics, from TV to art house, from video game to the written word, the A.V. Club has come to be a geek's special hideout. if it weren't for a shitload of stupid forum cunts, it'd be perfect.

anyway, the thing i appreciate the most about the site are the ongoing series a certain writer or group of writers posts to on a weekly or monthly basis. some favorites: "Commentary Tracks of the Damned," an analysis of the tone and information gathered from DVD commentary tracks on generally the worst movies of all time ("Miss Congeniality 2," for instance); "I Watched This on Purpose," a similarly themed re-evaluation of a terrible movie ("Rambo IV" most recently); the independently named "Inventory" installments, usually tallying a Top 10 or 20 relating to particular topic question ("What's Up with the Smoke Monster?: 16 Unanswered TV Questions," "The Darrin Effect: 20 Jarring Cases of Recast Roles," etc.); and my most recent pleasure, "The New Cult Canon," an in-depth exploration into a particular movie's worth, whether it holds up or is dated, what ground it broke, and whether its influence is still felt. most recently, "Showgirls."

well, it seems "The New Cult Canon" is wading through some gangster movies over the next two weeks, "Sexy Beast" and "Sonatine." the latter reminded me of a revisit i wanted to make to Takeshi Kitano's widely influential gangster movie, one i feel was applauded on its release, assimilated into western style and reference (by none other than Tarantino and his followers), and overshadowed by the latter day successes of both Kitano and British gangster pictures (which "Sexy Beast" is one).

"Sexy Beast" and "Sonatine" have much in common:

1. they are both paying homage to a very well traveled genre in their respective countries (in Britain, the cockney gangster films of the '60s and '70s - "Get Carter" anyone? - and in Japan, the yakuza pictures made famous by Kinji Fukasaku - "Battles without Honor and Humanity" to name one).
2. they are re-contextualizing the gangster genre with art house, character-oriented drama and camera style; both are also lower budget personal projects of their directors, Jonathan Glazer and Kitano.
3. they handle the violence of the gangster world in a viciously comedic way, the dark comedy and destructive force of Ben Kingsley's Don Logan and Kitano's Murakawa drive both stories.

"Sonatine" marked a watershed time for Kitano. He had gained notice as a director when he took over for Fukasaku on "Violent Cop" in 1989, a Dirty Harry type vehicle in which Kitano played the lead. As a director, he created a vibrant balance between the stillness of well-composed shots and the hectic movement of action (a style he would later credit to Akira Kurosawa for influencing him). With "Boiling Point" and "A Scene at the Sea," Kitano took a bigger role behind the camera, even though many viewers' favorite scenes in "Boiling Point" include Kitano's short, violent cameo.

With "Sonatine," Kitano became an international name, both as the film's star and director. The film was a hit with the "Reservoir Dogs" crowd, egged on by the young auteur who helmed that movie. The typical fans in the U.S. and U.K. were those John Woo fans enjoying a heavy diet of Hong Kong action but lamenting the director's move to America (his first gift to his fans: the Van Dammage epic, "Hard Target"). With only the likes of heavy hitters Jackie Chan and Tsui Hark, and the arrival of notable gangster epics from Johnny To (the current fan favorite in HK) and Takashi Miike nearly a decade off, many Eastern Action fans either started broadening their tastes to more traditional gong fu and wuxia or they followed the bullets across the pond to Japan.

How curious the choice of Takeshi Kitano is in retrospect. Kitano wasn't a bullet opera director. He didn't do wire fu. The characters in his movies didn't have an endless supply of ammo or an endless will to live. If someone got shot, it was out of the blue and definite, they died. It's no surprise that Western culture reacted to this type of sudden, brief, gory violence. It was everything we got from "Rambo" movies but more calculated and compressed. Imagine a crack habit with 3 or 4 killer doses, instead of 75 weak ones. That's "Sonatine." But how weird that many viewers were willing or persuaded into watching what boils down to art house cinema, just for a fix. Compared to Woo's continual berating of "pop-pop" beats, Kitano's a bit out of rhythm.

"Sonatine" is straightforward and easy to follow, as any good genre picture should be. Along the way, we get a healthy dose of "Beat" Takeshi, Kitano's acting personality, as well as comic touches he will make his signature over the next decade.

In terms of his acting style, Kitano fans run the gamut, but it doesn't surprise me when you get two camps: those who prefer pre-accident Kitano and those who prefer post-accident. in 1994, he got into a motorcycle crash that caused paralysis to the left side of his body. he had extensive surgeries to save the muscles in his face but the damage has been noticeable ever since. the difference in personalities is black and white: pre-1994, he's wily and vibrant, at once a big kid and a psychotic clown; post-1994, he's reserved to stillness and silence, accented by facial twitches and scary calm. it's like Al Pacino in reverse, though Kitano never screamed the Japanese equivalent of "Hoo-Haa" while driving a Ferrari through the streets of SoHo. if you want tangible examples, compare "Sonatine" to the Golden Lion award-winning "Hana-Bi" ("Fireworks" in the U.S.) or his awesome performance in "Battle Royale."

"Sonatine" in and of itself is a solid gangster picture and a literal homage to Kinji Fukasaku's "Sympathy for the Underdog." Murakawa, played by Kitano, is an underboss in a Tokyo yakuza syndicate. When an ally clan in Okinawa goes to war with another, he and his crew are sent to back up his fellow "aniki," or brothers. Murakawa does this reluctantly since several of his men were killed on a similar assignment in Hokkaido, an outcome that he won turf for in apology from his boss. since then, the turf has become a yakuza gold mine, rich in protection money and illegal vices. Murakawa is happy and feeling it is time to retire. but, against his instincts, he departs on the mission.

on the sun-drenched beaches of Okinawa, similar to the Miami we saw in "Scarface" and "Miami Blues," the gang of city hoods balances their time between sudden assassinations and terrorist bombings of their hideouts...and geisha dancing...and childish antics. as the war cools down, boredom sets in. they kill time by hanging out. but in the moments of no need and no goal, Murakawa starts realizing the pointlessness of being a gangster with a worthless code, serving a "brother" who doesn't give a shit about you. as the betrayals stack up and his men all get gunned down, the gangster descends into empty revenge. even the inclusion of a murder-obsessed groupie who's crazy for bad boys does nothing to dampen Murakawa's fascination with his own suicidal downfall. to some, this is Kitano's depressed artistic hand, a nihilism throughout his early work that signaled the motorcycle accident to follow the next year, an event Kitano admitted was a suicide attempt. to others, this is the moral code Kitano has made famous in interviews and EPKs ever since: bad guys got to die. it's distinctly cold but something he has campaigned for in the same way Kurosawa advocated compassion.

the movie's indelible mark can be felt as it was digested into the "cool killers/cool guns" subgenre in the U.S. these are just a few movies that borrow the masterless ronin image of a nihilistic killer ("Le Samouraï") somewhere in their stories:

• Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill (all of which borrowed from Kitano as much as they borrowed from Woo, Melville, and 1940s noir)
• Smokin' Aces
• The Matrix (quiet asians kick ass, anyone?)
• Léon, the Professional
• El Mariachi, Desperado, From Dusk til Dawn, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Sin City

in the U.K., as stated before, Hong Kong and Japanese gangster movies became the exotic trend in the absence of good cockney yarns. from the 1980s until Guy Ritchie came on the scene, the genre had all but taken the road of the Western in the U.S. the calm, cool, vengeful gangster from the East made his mark; even these days, way after "Snatch," "Sexy Beast," and "Layer Cake" became part of the British recolonization of gangster chic.

"Sonatine" serves as a benchmark in Kitano's gangster canon, which includes the dirty cops of "Violent Cop" and "Hana-Bi" as well as the good-natured teddy bear of a yakuza in "Kikujiro." it delivers on genre expectations -- blood, betrayal, bullets, and broads -- and creates an emotional character study that is as artistically shot as it is plotted. it combines moments of childish adventure, in scenes of playful sumo contests and fireworks battles, with dark comedy and ultraviolence. it also served as another installment in Kitano's acting company, as friends and mainstays Susumu Terajima, Ren Osugi, and Tetsu Watanabe show up as soldiers in Murakawa's crew.

even when it's slow, there's a point. i think it should be given another chance. Kitano's whole catalog, including the romances, dramas, and slapstick comedies, should be celebrated...just like Michael Bolton's.

The title is simply Boy. It's a collection of three independent stories about boys in Japan having varying degrees of difficulty in growing up. In Japanese the title is Shonen (which Manga fans might recognize from the title of the boys' cartooon magazine, Shonen Jump).

Kitano is perhaps best known here for his breathtakingly violent yakuza films like Violent Cop or Brother. But I think of him mainly as the star, writer and director of one of my top ten favorite films, Kikujiro, a non-violent (mostly), sentimental and very funny film about a low-life who has to protect a young boy on an eventful cross-country journey in search of the kid's mother. The deadpan humor of the stories in Boy, reminded me of Kikujiro. Also the sentiment: In the second story, two brothers are forced to rely on each other's companionship when they are ostracized and bullied in their new school after a move from Tokyo to Osaka. They take comfort in their shared interest in astronomy passed on to them by their late father. They've covered the walls and ceiling of their bedroom with pins dipped in phosphorescent paint to form constellations which appear when the light is turned out. Their name for the bedroom is "Nest of Stars."

The dust jacket has a bunch of holes neatly punched through it. The cover under the desk jacket is printed with a cartoon tableau of parents and children. When the dust jacket is slipped over the cover, the holes frame individual kids.

description:

Sonatine (ソナチネ, Sonachine) is a 1993 Japanese film written, directed, edited by, and starring Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It won numerous awards and became one of Kitano's most successful and praised films, garnering him a sizable international fan base.

info:

source: r1 dvd
resolution: 704×464 (anamorphic 825×464)
video codec: h264
audio codec: 2.0 vorbis
audio languages: japanese
subtitles: english (ass, srt)

torrent link

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