Fans of the hard-boiled roles that Beat Takeshi Kitano usually assigns himself will be surprised by Kikujiro. This is a sweet-natured, if off-kilter, comedy about a boy and a misfit on a road trip.
Kitano -- who wrote, directed, stars in, edited and contributed art for this film -- is Kikujiro, a bad-tempered, small-time hood type. He fights with everyone he encounters. The role is almost a parody of all the tough-guy parts Kitano has become famous for in Japan.
Yusuke Sekiguchi is Masao, a dour little nine-year-old who lives with his grandmother. Masao has been told that his father died in a car crash and that his mother lives far away, making a better life for him. It's summer holidays, and all around Masao, his school friends are going off with their families for a vacation. The child suddenly decides to go to find his mother, and Kikujiro is his unlikely travelling companion.
The boy and the taciturn man set off with some travel money, which Kikujiro quickly gambles away at the bike races. The film is a road story of sorts, but as this odd couple travels toward Masao's mother, they are also on an emotional road of friendship and self-discovery.
Divided into 'snapshots' like a photo album of one summer's activities, Kikujiro follows the man and the boy as they hitchhike, get into fights, encounter a pedophile, go swimming and brow-beat two seemingly tough motorcyclists into playing childhood games. They do in fact find Masao's mother, and those scenes are heartbreaking.
Parts of Kikujiro are hysterically funny, and parts are truly moving. Alas, the end always changes the beginning, and because the film goes on far too long, the best parts of the movie fade from memory with the boredom that sets in for the last 30 minutes.
Still, for the devoted Takeshi fan, Kikujiro is rewarding.
The film has some fascinating visuals, especially in the dream sequences meant to be little Masao's nightmares. The performances are strong, though Takeshi is almost too good as the gruff and violence-prone Kikujiro. Yusuke Sekiguchi is pretty close to perfect as the little boy.
Kikujiro is in Japanese with English subtitles.
(This film is rated PG)
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