Jam Session - The Official Bootleg of Kikujiro

This official bootleg of KIKUJIRO documents the whole production process, which eventually extended over a period of 150 days, of Takeshi Kitano's latest film, KIKUJIRO. The project was originally conceived as a simple making-of film. However, with Makoto Shinozaki as director, it turned out to be an unique documentary with exhaustive research on the entire production process (the total footage shot on Digital Video finally amounted to over 100 hours), and his distinctive editing style.

In JAM SESSION, not only did Shinozaki opt to drop the technical cliches of making-of documentaries, such as narration, superimposition, and excerpts, but, in one exceptional sequence, he dared only use background music. This extremely stoical style gives viewers so much presence that one feels one is witnessing the exact moment when a film is born on the exact spot where it is happening: Takeshi Kitano behaves energetically at times and comically at others, while accurately giving instructions to the crew members; chief technicians engage in heated discussion on the design of the set;  Taiwanese film master and friend of Kitano, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, visits the post-production studio where the two amuse themselves by chatting about the film.

By showing us the whole process as a film by Takeshi Kitano is being made, as if going through the process of a 'jam session', this unique documentary transcends all the boundaries of its genre.