Who’d have expected a Japanese TV host and comedian to turn to such poignant filmmaking? Winner of the Golden Lion, Fireworks has proven to be one of Takeshi Kitano’s best films: a masterpiece of sublime simplicity and staccato force, combating unsparing violence with bare sentimentality.
Upending cop-thriller tropes with deadpan wit, Takeshi Kitano’s directorial debut is acutely alive to how violence makes itself manifest. By turns incendiary and disconcertingly tranquil, this electrifying film explores how quickly society can become numb to everyday brutality.
In this mighty finale to his Outrage series, Takeshi Kitano explores the decay and decline of the modern yakuza. The turbulent struggle across and within neighboring clans delivers darkly comic thrills, while beneath the surface of this gang war lies an indelible meditation on old age.