Cinema Tuesdays Review

The Bloody World of Beat Takeshi
By Randy Anderson

Miramax Home Entertainment has recently made American fans of Japanese movies very happy with the release of two of Takeshi Kitano's films, paired together in one DVD set. If you are like me, and don’t know Mister Kitano’s work - this double feature will catch one up quick. I had no idea of the popularity of this director/actor/ television game show host/TV personality/writer/comedian/artist and cartoonist in his home country until I did some research. When Kitano appears on screen he uses the name Beat Takesi. Watching these two films together gives one an appreciation of Kitano’s unusual artistic vision and film direction.

In chronological order, we start with "Sonatine." Going against type, Kitano’s film about an aging gangster takes its time giving us a likeable character. Where Hollywood gets us there in minutes, Kitano takes a circuitous and lazy route. Forty-seven minutes into the film I finally discovered the sympathetic character, not surprisingly played by Kitano himself.

A key word in movies today is more. More explosions, more plot twists, you get the idea. Kitano takes the Steve McQueen school of cool minimalism and maximizes it. Imagine a roomful of cool dudes all trying to underplay each other and you get a good idea of the first third of Sonatine. There is so little dialogue that the whole screenplay would fit on a napkin, but to focus on this would miss this movie's subtle charm. Kitano takes on formula pictures and rethinks them. Mostly the settings in "Sonatine" are not urban but pastoral and idyllic, which makes the sudden and surprising violence all the more upsetting. And "Sonatine" is violent, not only in the usual gun battles and fights, but in the cold, cruel way these men of violence treat each other. I had a hard time liking anyone in this film, but Kitano is famous for a reason. He has great personality but holds it in reserve, waiting for that right moment. And waiting is something the viewer will do. "Sonatine" is a slow paced film that takes its time in sharing with us the humor and inner lives of these hard, dangerous and sometimes philosophical men that populate Kitano’s gangster epic.

Why are Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes or even Sam Spade popular? They are characters that are indestructible and can withstand many interpretations. One of these eternal characters comes from Japan in the form of a blind samurai, Zatoichi. This enduring archetype has appeared in twenty-six films and over one hundred television shows declaiming his exploits since the 1960s. Now, one of the new breed of actor/directors, Takeshi Kitano, takes on this Japanese franchise and puts his own stamp on it. As mentioned earlier, more is the standard of today’s movies. Similarly the blind swordsman has had a technical up-grade. Kitano’s "Zatoichi" is so skilled and fast that it is hard to believe that anyone could be this good, much less an old and handicapped man. Our swordsman possesses a quiet contemplation that is in stark contrast to the lightning fast fight scenes. There are several statues of the Buddha in this film, highlighting this monastic serenity. This has become a cliché in samurai films, the merging of the clarity of mind that comes with humble religious meditation, with the perversion of this exalted mental state to kill dispassionately and without anger. A confusing subtext, no?

The plot is typical of the genre: bad, greedy men hold a town in the grip of fear until a man of courage makes his stand, killing off the would be tyrants. That would be enough for some films, but "Zatoichi" isn’t one story, but three blended together. Action isn’t enough for Kitano, who brings incidental music and humor into this film. Not music as we expect in a typical soundtrack, but life’s rhythm and spontaneous music making that plays its part. Long, pastoral scenes are the order of the day with fights shown close up and quickly edited. Computer graphics have come to samurai films and great sprays of blood accompany the many sword fights in this movie. On the whole these effects draw attention to themselves. CGI also allows the sword to lop off heads and hands, and even slice statues like a cleaver though a stalk of celery. While these effects are dramatic, they have a “gee whiz” quality that I could do without. Takeshi Kitano isn’t a traditional filmmaker, and "Zatoichi" displays his impish qualities all the way though to the very unusual and upbeat ending. Recommended.

12/27/04

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