Kikujiro (菊次郎の夏)

Kikujiro (菊次郎の夏)

Directed By: Takeshi Kitano

Released: June 5, 1999

Kikujiro, a much calmer film, explores separation and attachment of Japanese society. The film starts out with Masao, a nine-year old boy running with a backpack that has wings on it. The film follows Masao and Kikujiro (Kitano), to find Masao’s mother who in the beginning of film, we learn has left Masao. Masao currently lives with his grandmother, and during his summer vacation, he and Kikujiro go on a journey to find Masao’s mother. Along the way, Masao and Kikujiro seem to become closer with the people they meet. By the end of the film, Masao and Kikujiro are seen hugging and not really wanting to leave each other.

Kikujiro, has a lot of repetition – opening scene of the film, Masao is running with a backpack with angle wings, and then when the movie finishes, he is once again running with the backpack. Another repetition we see – when Kikujiro meets the bikers and a poet, we see them come up again in the movie.

            The film style had a similar feel to the Marx Brothers films. A mix of comedy and tragedy, the film was nicely scripted. At some moments in the film it reminded me of The Wizard and Oz. Masao and Kikujiro set off to find Masao’s mother and along the way run into various interesting people. Some help them out, while others seem to just be there. Mentioned in the article by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Kitano may have had similar traits to Groucho Marx (Rosenbaum 2002). Kikujiro had this uplifting vibe and funny moments that it made the movie, I think more enjoyable to watch. As I am not a big fan of yakuza movies, this film was calmer and more relaxed. Different and surprising from Kitano’s films we watched in class – Boiling Point, Sonatine, and Hana-bi, Kikujiro, still brought out Kitano’s filming style. Being inspired by Ozu and Kurosawa angles, Kitano put together is own. He occasionally had some dead pans, but they were shorter than Ozu’s. The pace of his films was not as fast as Kurosawa’s, but they were quicker than Ozu’s pace.

            The film itself seems to be relatable to one’s life. When Masao and Kikujiro come across Masao’s mother walking out, they begin their walk to the house, only to stop midway when they see a farther and kid walk out too. Seeing your mother remarried and with child, it makes you wonder if Masao’s mother had forgotten about him. The mother seems to be happy with her new family. Kikujiro tries to tell Masao that his mother must have moved away, but deep down Kikujiro must have known that was not the case. Dealing with loss and searching for someone you only hope to remember you is challenging. I think the film definitely brought out interesting topics of discussion and how to consider the worse. Life is not all about happy ever after’s, but it’s about moving on from the worse disasters and learning to cope with new beginnings.

Reference:

Rosenbaum, Jonathan. Jonathan Rosenbaum, 30 June 2002, www.jonathanrosenbaum.net/2000/06/weird-and-wonderful/.

Hana-bi (花火)

Hana-bi (花火)

Directed By: Takeshi Kitano

Released: September March 20, 1998

            Beautiful and yet mysterious. Hana-bi is about a retired cop, Yoshitaka, Nishi, whose wife is suffering from leukemia. In order to pay, he borrows money from the yakuza. Having trouble paying off the debt, Nishi dresses up as a cop and robs a bank. He divides up the money; sends it out to the yakuza, his friends, and then takes his wife to other places in Japan. Something about Hana-bi makes it a beautiful, while the other part of the film is mysterious. The ending of the film, I think is the mysterious part while the beautiful part of the film is Nishi visiting Mt. Fuji, a Buddhist temple, and a Japanese Inn with his wife. In the sense of his wife battling leukemia, the doctor had told him to take his wife and enjoy the last moments.

            ‘Since pre-Meiji years, Yakuza, an organized crime group have been in existence,’ (Hane & Perez 2009). Since then, Yakuza groups have grown; Inagawa-kai and Yamaguchi-gumi. Yakuza groups have caused much damage to politics and businessmen. “In 1990, the National Police Agency reported one third of Japanese corporations give in threats from yakuza and pay extortion money,” (Hane & Perez 2009).

            From 1985-1989, the Tokyo stock market had reached its peak “bubble economy”, and this was when the yakuza launched into the mainstream businesses and politics. The head of Inagawa-kai, Susumu Ishii, began ‘business activities bureau’ (McCarthy 2015). Today, yakuza are not a posing threat, but they do have effects on Japan’s economic system, (McCarthy 2015),

Reference:

Adelstein, Jake. “The Yakuza: Inside Japan's Murky Criminal Underworld.” CNN, Cable News Network, 16 Dec. 2015, edition.cnn.com/2015/09/15/asia/yakuza-yamaguchi-gumi-explainer/.

Bouissou, Jean Marie. Japan: the Burden of Success. Hurst, 2002.

Hane, Mikiso, and Louis G. Perez. Modern Japan: a Historical Survey. Westview Press, 2009.

Tokyo, From TERRY MCCARTHY in. “Japan's Crime Incorporated: The Years of the Bubble Economy Lured.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 22 Oct. 2011, www.independent.co.uk/news/business/japans-crime-incorporated-the-years-of-the-bubble-economy-lured-japans-yakuza-gangs-to-muscle-into-1479105.html.