Kikujiro

I liked Kitano better when he barely spoke and randomly stabbed people in the eye.

Utterly charming refreshing spin on 'odd couple' tropes, with Kitano unafraid to take his characters (and certain plot points) into very dark places, which effectively cuts through any mawkishness inherent in the material. Kitano's brilliant comic performance is a joy (with a hilarious gag involving a swimming pool a highlight), and the rest of the cast acquit themselves nicely, despite their sometimes underwritten roles. Flags a little bit in the final act.

Kitano at some of his most sentimental, this journey to rediscover how to connect with human beings is touching, surreal, and often hilarious. A lot of trademark Kitano throughout. While the themes and message are quite simple, Kitano uses his still, vignette style and carefully staged shots to let them unfold with great heart and humor. Sekiguchi isn't that solid of a child actor, but thankfully he doesn't have to do much but be a foil for the more experienced actors to work off of.

Heartwarming and intelligent with hilarious moments thrown in. True, Kitano carries the whole thing, but what doesn't he totally dominate?

The cinematography isn't quite as enrapturing as his other 90s films, and there's a mid-film climax that feels so conclusive despite not being the ending, but those are really just nitpicks. Takeshi, at his most sentimental here, with the help of one of Hisaishi's best scores, effortlessly masters a special brand of heartwarming humanist comedy that's so rarely seen (Hosoda and Koreeda are possibly the only others to achieve it), but such a joy to watch.

I do think Kitano has made something special with this. The problem is it's mostly in the stunning cinematography and that deadpan humor he uses so effectively (usually, at least) - not the actual story.

Just like Hisaishi's score, this one feels shallow and frivolous in the beginning, but the more you get exposed to it, the more it grows on you, until in the end it unfurls unexpected poignancy. Must have been great fun to make!

It's fun to root for an asshole like Kitano cuz you know he's totally gonna get Curly Sue'd by that little boy.

This is certainly quirky but I also thought it had quite a dreamlike feel to it, with soft lighting at times and some scenes depicting what appear to be dream type sequences, with symbolic figures doing moves etc. It definitely has an arty feel to it at times. I found the grumpy old man quite amusing, even though most people likely wouldn't - he isn't someone you'd want to annoy, or you'd never hear the end of it, that's for sure. A surprisingly amusing and affectionate film.

A conventional road movie about male bonding is transformed into a unique experience through countless creative digressions and oddball encounters with social outsiders. What appears frivolous at first becomes a bittersweet reflection on the joys and disappointments of life, played out in a surprisingly tender and childlike register with plenty of visual invention. It's sentimental but not cloyingly thanks to moments of hard edged humour, and Hisaishi's score is among his best.

A bizarre film which seems to get less and less serious, as a boy is introduced to a series of adults all of whom behave quite strangely, leading to all manner of games, role-playing and imaginative entertainment. While that's a nice concept (somehow Miyazaki-like), it was executed in a jarring fashion. You can never quite tell whether Kitano is playing a bumbling retard, or a wise father-who-never-was. His performance didn't mesh well with the twee sentiment of the lost innocence of youth.

This movie makes my heart hurt. It took me a very long time to really "get" what Kitano was trying to do with this, but once I did, I was behind it all the way. I don't know, it just makes me feel really warm and fuzzy to see something this unique and imaginative play out in front of me.

Very cute with a wonderful score and a lovely visual style.

Kitano stars and directs in what is apparently a departure role for him. I found this to be too slow to my liking.

bah

In the first 45 minutes or so, I was saying to myself...What the hell does everyone see in this film. But after a while, I was sucked in. A very different film, but a very good film too.

Child molester jokes are NOT FUNNY

Broad, episodic, slapstick comedy of a shiftless ne'er-do-well learning to care for someone other than himself; but the action grows ever more manipulative and sentimental, and is interspersed with clumsy dream sequences.

The music was awesome.

The adult is incredible... But very hilarious and heartwarming!

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Splendid, emotional...

A very strange hero's journey. The odd couple of a sad-sack kid and misanthropic adult set off in search of the child's mother. There are a lot of small pieces in here -- which sometimes move excruciatingly slow -- but it's a decent mix of humor and sadness. I couldn't shake the feeling that a lot of the scenes were ad-libbed until they found something that worked.

a beauuuutiful movie with fitting music scores which will leave you feelin warm and fuzzy in your heart at the end. kitano deviated from his usual formula and it proves that he's not only brilliant in the yakuza/violent genre.

The acting, the ambience, the photography. The story also. Everything is excellent in this movie. I loved it.

Só o Kitano pra trazer um filme protagonizado por um dos caras mais escrotos ever ser esse poço de sensibilidade e transformá-lo num dos melhores filmes dos anos 90. Box Versátil A Arte de Takeshi Kitano

Didn't need the last 30 minutes, and Kikujiro was not a likeable person.

I couldn't stop laughing after seeing this scene:

Very touching movie. A host of original characters depicted

The real focus of the film seems to be the character development of Kikujiro - someone really abrasive and self-centred who's coerced into prioritising another person (for what you imagine to be the first time in his life). Masao's vulnerability is sometimes really jarringly exposed, and Kikujiro is too stoic to offer real emotional support, so everything he does to console Masao ends up being at someone else's expense. This is weirdly fun to watch though, and defies the potential mawkishness.

wat

mixed bag with some nice moments