SnoReptilePlenty
Memorable, crazy movie
Invaderbank
The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.
Billy Ollie
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
Yashua Kimbrough (jimniexperience)
Highly Poetic Film .. Arthouse cinema Story follows an ex-cop suffering from severe losses wanting to spend his remaining days with his dying wife - enjoying each other's company before her terminal illness claims her life .Story flashes back to a botched investigation that leads to a shooting leaving one partner dead and the other permanently crippled . His crippled partner decides to spend his remaining days as a painter , and Kitano takes a family vacation with his wife with stolen bank money and travels the mountain-sideVery beautiful movie ,, 9/10
TheFilmGuy1
This is certainly a Kitano film, through and through. Art, long takes, close ups, silent characters, sudden violence, and wacky humour. It's all here. I have seen many say that Hana-bi is Kitanos best film, but I would probably disagree and say Sonatine is. I feel that the films are quite similar, but Sonatine just does it better. That's not to say that Hana-bi isn't a great movie. Kitano plays a very similar character to his other films. A silent and violent cop who retires from the force due to a certain incident and the fact that his wife is sick. He plays the character well and you certainly feel the pain he is experiencing. What I found slightly strange about the film was the side plot of the partner who was injured and starts to paint to keep himself busy. We keep cutting back to this story, and I couldn't quite place the significance. Looking at it from a very basic point of view, it does nothing to help the plot. Obviously it has a deeper meaning to it, but I can't quite understand it myself. I think I would need to analyse the film more. I almost feel like it may be some kind of personal statement by Kitano. He was involved in a car crash in real life and began to paint after it. Perhaps parts of this film, if not all, is about Kitanos accident and the feelings he had after having a near death experience. That would explain a lot. I feel overall, Sonatine does a better job of doing what Hana-bi tries to do. Sonatine has similar themes, but displays those theme more clearly and concisely, while Hana-bi is much more up to your own interpretation at times. Also, the humour in Sonatine works perfectly, while it feels out of place many times in Hana-bi. That's not to say the humour isn't funny. I actually found it extremely funny (especially a scene involving a camera on a timer), but it just felt quite out of place at times. In the end, Hana-bi feels like a lesser version of Sonatine. Even though Hana-bi came after, I just found myself thinking "Sonatine did it better". I got goosebumps from Sonatine, but not Hana-bi. But I think it might be a matter of opinion, and I think this is a great film that should be seen.
Christian
Takeshi Kitano not only writes, acts in, directs and edits this meaningful fable, he also paints the artworks that are a strong element of the film. Kitano is supposedly known for his violence, but this movie has more to do about the repercussion of violence--and about life and death in general--than showing actual violent scenes. The violence is there, bursts of explosive violence, but it is short and strategically edited.Nishi, the protagonist, sees his partners die or get injured in the line of duty. One of them, Horibe, becomes wheel-chair-bound. His wife leaves him and he contemplates life and death staring at the horizon beyond the sea. He starts to paint to express himself and save himself from boredom and sorrow. Nishi, sick of his work leaves the police force to spend some time with his dying wife. The doctor just released her from the hospital and she does not have much time left...Kitano chooses to focus on the underlying emotions rather than dialogue as most of the scenes with his wife are silent. At first, this is unnerving, but slowly, as the movie progress, we understand that there is nothing left to stay.The score of the movie is its strongest point. Accomplished composer, Joe Hisaishi (who worked with Kitano on other projects as well as with Miyazaki's animated films) outdoes himself with poignant classical music that, unlike Nishi, speaks volume. He would win the Award of the Japanese Academy for this.Some good cinematography can also be observed at times. Kitano's paintings are interesting and vibrant. They add yet another level of complexity to this intriguing piece of film. All in all, a very well made film.
badtothebono
So, it has come to this. In the top-rated comment on this flick, somebody says "Nishi is an honorable man". Really? This is a guy who mainly kills and maims people in the movie. He takes a short break to rob a bank. Honorable? How would you like your kids to go to school with the kids of someone who calls that honorable? Wait, there's more! The person also says "we can tell he's constantly thinking." How can we do that? Well, do you know that joke "How can you tell when a CEO/politician/lawyer is lying?" ... "His/her lips move." Well, Nishi's lips never move, so I guess that means he is thinking.Of course, this is existentialism to warm the hearts of the cult of victimization. Existentalism supposedly stresses that an individual take responsibility for the consequences of one's acts. Not Nishi. Borrow money from the yakuza. What, they want it back? Kill them. The cops find out. Kill yourself and your wife.Really honorable.
