Flyerplesys Perfectly adorable

Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

louisson I saw this on a big screen in 2016, when a "moving picture" means the camera moves. Most of the time the camera sat still and the cast acted in front of it as if on a stage. Boring!Second, the director is the lead actor. "Actor" in quotes: you see everything he has to offer in the first 10 seconds.Third, the paintings are by the director. At times it's as if we're being shown a gallery of his paintings, which, as the actor in the film who "creates" them says, "Colorful, but amateur." Amateur indeed.Fourth, the pacing of the film at times felt like watching paint try--and in some scenes that about what we did--watch the paint dry.Fifth, the music becomes insipid, like something from "Peyton Place" with Lana Turner. Lastly, I don't think this is a spoiler; it's a comment on the lead character, not the plot. The lead character is a violent thug; that's who he is; and, when he has to encounter his own crises, he's an empty and helpless as he is toward others. As a result, I had absolutely no sympathy toward him; I felt detached. I was tempted to walk out after 30 minutes, and again after 60. The night fresh air would be have far more worthwhile.

HANS When I first saw this movie about 15 years ago, I was ecstatic. Little has changed since then.The story is about the downfall of one cop and the transcendence of another. It is also a deeper look into a mind that exists in extremes.First, the few things that I didn't like as much as the rest. The score seems very western-oriented and sentimental, and I cannot help but thinking that it was done that way to make the movie more appealing to western audiences. Just as in any Asian restaurant in the West, where they add flavors to adapt the dishes to a western taste. In one instance, the violence seems to be a bit self-serving: when his wife is bullied while watering the flowers, it doesn't really have anything to do with the story, nor does it add anything. And finally, there are some logical issues (why would the Yakuza boss drive out to the spa personally?).That said, the film is so strong that these issues are more like fly spots on the windshield of a sports car.At it's core, the film is violent in an almost pathological way and at the same time beautiful in a grand way. My sister, who saw the film and found it "somewhat poetic", was ultimately turned off by the blood and slaughter. You therefore cannot fully appreciate it without accepting or even admiring it's violent aggression, for instance when Nishi is poking the eye of the Yakuza mobster with his chopsticks. At other moments, Nishi becomes iconic. When the mob killer is pointing the gun at him in front of the elevator, his calm fatalism makes Tarantinos films look like comic strips.When Horibe, the wounded cop, is looking at the bouquets that are displayed in front of the flower shop, the film show us the moment of his inspiration. It is expressed in a way that makes the viewer realize the exalted state and intimacy of the moment. Takeshi knows what he is talking about, since he is the artist who did all the paintings, and they are scattered throughout the movie. Sometimes, they contradict the mood of a scene and give it a slightly ironic feeling. But they always add color to the mostly monotone backdrops (hospital interiors, dimly lit bars).His very unique humour is also everywhere in the film, in little self-enclosed sketches that I personally find quite funny, they also serve to add some lightness to an otherwise very severe theme.The camera is mostly still and the frames are composed in a very focused, reduced and determined style, which is probably not unusual for Japanese cinema.This is more of an experience than a movie.

ivanbmm I don't gave 10 because there is some dose of violence in this movie to my taste. However, fading away this violence there is one of the most beautiful stories of love, painting and poetry that I've ever seen.I keep scanning movie forums, looking for these kind of movies. In my view, they are felt with more down-to-earth love stories, which I am finding rare to find now-a-days. The closer I can get from Hana-bi is Poetry by Chang-dong Lee. The reason I love both is the same. They are full of beautiful metaphors to give colour to such trivial stories, realistic characters like Nishi (Takeshi Kitano) and off course, poetic visuals. Hana-bi is worth watching for poetry lovers.

ackstasis Takeshi Kitano's 'Hana-Bi' is something of an oddity. True to his previous efforts as director, the film contains its fair share of shockingly-graphic violence, and yet at its heart lies a touching tale of love, loyalty and devotion. For the entire running time, Kitano (who, aside from directing, also wrote and starred in the film) treads a perilously fine line between the two thematic extremes; it is an intricate balancing act that, if attempted by a less-talented filmmaker, might very possibly have turned into a complete cinematic disaster. Nevertheless, the director manages to pinpoint this perfect centre of balance, and the clash of beauty and violence combines to create a jarring amalgamation of conflicting emotional responses. We, as the audience, as simultaneously repulsed and entranced; as a whole, 'Hana-bi' is one of the most beautiful film experiences of the last decade or so.The title of the film itself acknowledges these opposing visual styles. Whilst the Japanese word 'Hanabi' translates to 'Fireworks' (the title under which it was released in the United States), the addition of the hyphen to the title ('Hana-bi') emphasises two individual components of the word, which translate respectively into "Fire" and "Flower," the collision of destruction and beauty/renewal. Much of the film concerns a cop named Yoshitaka Nishi (Kitano), who is forced to retire after a shooting on the job leaves his partner, Horibe (Ren Osugi), paralysed, alone and confined to a wheelchair. All the while, Nishi is still coming to terms with the impending loss of his wife, Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), who is slowly dying from leukemia. As any grieving husband might do in such a situation, Nishi decides to quietly rob a bank, and he then uses most of the proceeds to fund a final loving family holiday for his ailing partner.The scenes between Nishi and his wife are among the most touching I've ever witnessed. Miyuki has only two lines in the entire film, and so the couple spend most of their time in complete silence and quiet reflection, and yet you can truly sense the affection that they both have for each other. Their love is completely unspoken, and this makes it all the more touching when Miyuki does finally speak. Another touching character is Horibe, the loyal police force partner whose crippling injury leaves him alone and depressed. After attempting suicide, Horibe receives painting materials in the mail, and he commits his emotions to canvas, finally uncovering a reason for his continued existence (importantly, the artwork we see in the film was actually created by Kitano in 1994, after a near-fatal motorcycle accident). The film's phenomenally moving soundtrack was composed by renowned Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, in his fourth collaboration with the director.There are very few negative criticisms that can be said of 'Hana-bi.' One possible item is that the film's unusual flashback structure made some plot-points difficult to follow, and I'm still unsure of which cop's lonesome widow Nishi was in the habit of visiting. However, that's the only critique that springs straight to mind. All in all, 'Hana-bi' is a gloriously assorted blend of violence, love and gentle humour, and a first viewing is not likely to be forgotten in a hurry.