Kikujir no natsu (1999) Kikujiro 

Directed by Takeshi Kitano 

Starring Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi

A real oddball and playful buddy/road movie, Masao lives with his grandmother in Tokyo but desperately wants to see his mother who lives in another town. Kikujir is a cynical old yakuza (gang) member who through his wifes persuasion accompanies Masao on his journey.

The first thing Kikujiro does is to drag Masao to a bicycle racing track where he manages to lose almost all their money gambling, thus their adventure truly begins as they have to hitch their way to their destination. Along the way they meet a series of characters including Jugglers, a writer and two inept Hells Angels, Fatso and Baldy (as named by Kikujir) all of who help to amuse Masao and keep the story rolling along.

Among the delights are the Hells Angels made up as various sea creatures and melon bashing (a Japanese beach custom) with a difference. Kitanos signatures are present as usual, seashores, angels, physical and musical rhythm and his artwork. Each chapter has an introductory screen almost like a scrapbook giving a little preview of whats to come and the whole thing plays out almost like a Japanese Wizard of Oz but without any sentimentality or any form of redemption. Kikujiro starts the film as a cynical old fart and ends it exactly the same.

Vivid, colourful and energetic, this is a great movie and a fine introduction especially for youngsters to Japanese cinema, highly recommended.

Cheers Trev

BBFC rated 12

No R2 Pal DVD available, R1 & R3 ntsc available from several suppliers.