Hana-Bi

"Anyone with a modicum of patience, an open mind and a little love in their heart will probably recognise it as a masterpiece."

TIME OUT

"A film which distinguished itself by its striking visual style and kinetic interplay of movement and inaction. The spaces Kitano evokes in Hana-bi, the aural, visual and narrative elisions, are coupled with the frantic violence and fast cutting of the action sequences which imbue the film with both a meditative and distinctly contemporary feel."

SENSE OF CINEMA

"A major art-house success, introducing Takeshi to a whole new audience. Though punctuated by scenes of stark brutality, it is at heart a nostalgic look at a traditional Japanese ideal of duty as fulfilled by an ex-cop to his terminally ill wife, and, as such, is Takeshi’s most romantic film."

ABC

"Hana-Bi offers a stinging portrait of an icy-cold society in which cityscapes and bright lights and all the modern conveniences are poor substitutes for warmth, caring, and basic humanity…a soulful film, with Kitano often employing the soft sounds of pianos or violins to create moods of melancholy. Most impressive of all, the film is loaded with visual and aural juxtapositions that infuse it with a profound sense of irony…All of this is most poignantly played out in Kitano’s visual and aural juxtapositions, which ultimately mix devotion with outrage, beauty with anguish."

FILM REFERENCE

"“Hana-Bi” is a very different kind of film working hard on several levels and succeeding."

REELING REVIEWS

"For Kitano, human life is like one of Nishi’s fireworks in the countryside—it begins as a spark, then explodes as a momentary, ferociously intense flash in an otherwise serene world."

ABOUT FILM

"This is truly an exceptional piece of work…Kitano takes the time to live with his characters and observe human condition. As a director, he crafts brilliantly his film, practically turning it into an impressionist painting. Every single shot is mesmerizing."

MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL

"More evidence of (Kitano’s) remarkable talent. In fact, it certifies him as one of the finest contemporary filmmakers, whose piercing vision is unlike any other."

BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE

"An exceptional piece of filmmaking, a drama that blurs the line between the ultra-violent cop movie genre and weepy but moving melodrama, and does it very convincingly."

DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY

"You really need to see this film to appreciate the sheer creative vigor that crackles through it like static current inside one of those glass lightning-globe toys…Efforts to pin down its odd seductive power are as futile as, say, describing the specific sense of disorientation you feel at the instant when a darting cloud suddenly obscures the sun, throwing all your perceptions into a new light before you realize what’s happened. Disquieting, but subtly consciousness-expanding. Just see the movie."

AUSTIN CHRONICLE

"A fascinating film…it takes some skill to make an action story that does not depend on action."

COMBUSTIBLE CELLULOID

"Simultaneously coolly stylized and surprisingly emotionally persuasive."

FILM JOUNRAL INTERNATIONAL

"Bracing and original, an indefinable film made from familiar elements…a combination of the words for “flower” and “fire,” and filmmaker Takeshi Kitano has, in the same way, adroitly fused genres, creating a film in which almost every moment pops out in unexpected ways….by simultaneously honoring gangster conventions and making his own idiosyncratic use of them, he’s made a personal film that speaks to everyone, but always in its own way."

LA TIMES

"The filmmaker’s equal fondness for bright floral paintings and exploding blood bags is sure to keep an audience on its toes…The frequently surprising ’’Hana-Bi’’ features flashes of deadpan humor and images of haunting pathos. Not even its most reflective moments are at much of a remove from its volatile fury, though."

NEW YORK TIMES