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Fireworks

Fireworks

1997
Romance, Comedy
1h 43m
Nishi is a cop whose wife is slowly dying of Leukemia. One of his partners gets shot on the job and is confined to a wheel chair for the rest of his life and becomes suicidal (imdb)
Your probable score
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Fireworks

1997
Romance, Comedy
1h 43m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 70.52% from 1306 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1306)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 31 Jan 2009
9
94th
"All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun." True that. But to make a really great one you need a girl, a gun and a guy with something special. Like Eastwood, Delon or perhaps 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano. He epitomizes cool. "Hana-Bi" in turns explodes and not just slows down, but pauses, in turns shifts between elegiac poetry and displays of art, painting, looking - and people attempting to grasp their situation. It's a film almost impossible to pin down. A must see.
Rated 30 May 2008
82
67th
It took me a surprisingly long time to sort out the separate timelines at the beginning, which in turn meant I never quite got into the film. Once I did sort it out I quite liked what I saw and it has some amazing elements. The visuals are strong and well constructed, the tone is very well done, the acting is solid and the ending is perfectly executed.
Rated 17 Dec 2006
75
50th
I found Fireworks harder to get into than Sonatine and not as satisfying, but it may just have been because I saw Sonatine first. The movie doesn't linger strongly in my mind, especially when compared to Sonatine.
Rated 28 Feb 2007
84
81st
Rather similar to Sonatine, another Kitano film. Brutal violence combined with quiet beauty and gentle humor. I liked it, but it didn't grab me like Sonatine did.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
5
2nd
Silly, maudlin, morally detestable crap.
Rated 27 Apr 2008
100
98th
It took me a while to get into the groove of Hana-bi; it is a series of delicate vignettes that play mostly like a silent movie and differ from one another. It is a yakuza film, a sweet drama, a dark slapstick comedy throughout. Some routines are Three Stooges if one of the Stooges ended up beaten or dead. It takes many unlikely turns and blooms into a minimalist and beautiful picture. I enjoyed it greatly.
Rated 07 Dec 2008
96
96th
There's something strangely arresting about Kitano's technique: many shots linger long after other directors would cut; Kitano's acting infers either sleepwalking stoicism or quiet menace. In its execution, this film is nearly flawless. But what really causes this film to stand alone from others in its genre is Nishi's fully-realized relationship with his wife. In augmenting their scenes with graphic, brutal violence, Kitano creates a unique, beautiful sort of redemption, indeed.
Rated 21 Mar 2010
28
12th
Kitano's very good, but I found it impossible to get past the whole "this movie is really boring" thing.
Rated 24 Dec 2017
50
8th
Top badass moment? Nishi pulling apart a little girl's kite. On the off-chance that doing so was making a profound statement I'm going to say it's badass, but to me it just looked mean. This is a satisfyingly sad watch, but disappointingly it doesn't have the gravitas or emotional depth of a film such as, for example, "The Emoji Movie". The music is horrible too and it was all in foreign for goodness sake. I don't understand art either. At least 5 cats, no chainsaws or decapitations.
Rated 26 Jun 2018
81
83rd
Rogue cop surrounded by violence & death seeks comfort & meaning the only way he knows. Deep tragicomic sense of melancholy, loss & resignation but also redemption & tenderness. Focus on emotional reflection over plot pays off in a rich eclectic tone. Kitano's deadpan performance is that of a wounded animal & his evocative vision is evident in every deliberate shot/cut. Forcefully beautiful in good & less good. The paintings were pushing it & the two sounds at the end were needlessly cliche tbh.
Rated 25 Aug 2018
50
29th
The score is beautiful, but the film is super slow and definitely not for those with a strong allergy to pretentiousness.
Rated 05 Dec 2006
98
96th
The finest of Kitano's body of work, this elegaic, prying look into the devastating sadness of a lone cop packs more tears than a month of soaps, with eighty times the pathos to show for it. Poor comparison, but it's hard to convey how the Western Eastwood trumps anything Clint's ever done here.
Rated 13 Jan 2007
100
99th
Kitano's best work. Flawless movie..
Rated 21 Jan 2007
46
48th
Has nothing on Dolls, which was still not a perfect film. Shows Takeshi developing his trademarks, but not developing any of them well.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
55
53rd
Preferred the painting to the story.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
80
66th
Despite the hype, don't watch it for the violence. It's actually pretty lite on violence. But a very interesting and engaging; great unraveling of a story that doesn't need to be ham fisted.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
96
97th
An absolutely beautiful and poetic film, loses points for a frustrating, boring scene (like the space scene in 2001) involving stills of paintings that had me fast forwarding. Captures a unique and believable relationship with only snippets of dialogue.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
28
11th
There's a film in here about saying goodbye to a sick wife, only it's surrounded by Kitano's blank expression that I feel is more the face of a psychopath than of a troubled man who has internalized trauma. And the director shares his sensibilities. If the lingering on violence doesn't convince you of that, maybe the sentimentality will - they are just two sides of a mirror.
Rated 17 Sep 2007
60
39th
introspective but dull flick
Rated 19 Oct 2007
80
78th
I have mixed feelings towards Kitano. I get a little tired of seeing him cast himself as laconic badass in films featuring long periods of pensive quiet interrupted by short bursts of graphic violence. But here the formula works - perhaps because the quieter moments don't feel just like filler, the splashes of color and regret are just as interesting as the badassery.
Rated 04 Feb 2008
40
19th
It alternates between serenity and madness. Very beautiful with a great score from Miyazaki regular Joe Hisaishi but ultimately, it falls prey to the biggest pitfall to these kind of slow-paced films, it's boring.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
71
53rd
# 581
Rated 11 Apr 2008
20
99th
Absolutely perfect. Really, genuinely perfect. I don't know what else to say: the pacing is perfect, the cinematography is perfect, the writing is perfect, the acting is perfect. My favourite film.
Rated 17 May 2008
80
76th
Deeply heartfelt and quietly - but forcefully - evocative, this thoughtful drama from Kitano offer springboards for meditation instead of (explicitly) making you perfectly aware of the character's emotions along the way. Kitano's restfulness and sharp focus is fruitful and delightful; you can sense a heartfelt grief in every frame, along with a distinctive, personal sense of humour and empathy. Not as great or powerful as Violent Cop, but irresistibly beautiful and tragic, cool, sad and warm.
Rated 14 Jun 2008
95
99th
Very Great
Rated 19 Dec 2008
70
40th
608
Rated 12 Feb 2009
100
97th
Kitano-san's masterpiece.
Rated 06 Mar 2009
100
97th
Amazing, beautiful, meditative, I cannot put into words how great this film is.
Rated 15 Apr 2009
76
43rd
A clear stylistic device underpins Hana-bi, that of showing daily life as sedate, serene, mundane, and then sharply punctuating it with scenes of brutal, graphic violence. It's certainly the main thing the film has going for it. The filming style seems grounded in realism, but Kitano's bad cop character is anything but realistic - he could be straight out of a Manga comic. The overall product is not that satisfying, even if some of the images were refreshing.
Rated 05 Jun 2009
9
96th
Very emotionally-charged and effective, Kitano shows both violence and compassion in this tour de force.
Rated 08 Oct 2009
93
83rd
Quite hard to get into, but it's very rewarding. Deeply emotional.
Rated 24 Nov 2009
90
86th
Takeshi is so good at looking at slices of life and at pensive/sad human drama, and just letting it take its own time to breathe. And then throwing in abrupt violence or weirdness.
Rated 06 Dec 2009
87
92nd
brilliant flow, with no exaendable scenes... damn, how can japanese turn something plain into something so transcending...
Rated 15 Jan 2010
67
34th
668
Rated 20 Jan 2010
80
91st
Loved the mix between the serene and the full-on action bits.
Rated 05 Jan 2011
90
99th
The first time I watched this film I struggled a little with the pace but by the end of the film I was convinced. This is an exceptional film, certainly not for everyone, but Kitano tells his story in his own time and at his own pace and the end result is a beautiful, violent, melancholic film.
Rated 27 Jan 2011
91
82nd
a beautiful mixture of violence and beauty, this movie is quite emotional and symbolical..
Rated 27 Mar 2011
57
17th
The mellow humor and quiet beauty cannot ease the exasperating pace and the unsatisfying story.
Rated 02 Apr 2011
85
92nd
Really great film by Kitano. Touching, melodic, and with lots of opportunity to simply see what happens, instead of being told.
Rated 14 Jul 2011
100
99th
My favourite movie of all time.
Rated 13 Oct 2011
40
97th
"Kitano uses his own face as a blank slate with which to sketch a complicated human being." - Jaime N. Christley
Rated 28 Nov 2011
85
85th
Kitano creates beautiful contrast between the brutal violence and the slow, serene scenes in between. The pacing could be a bit faster though.
Rated 02 Dec 2011
64
28th
#720
Rated 20 Nov 2012
70
26th
What's the point?
Rated 26 Dec 2013
75
75th
After seeing two of Kitano's gangster films I feel he is an offbeat, original and maybe even brilliant filmmaker, but he definitely works with a formula which only holds up for a couple of movies. So I guess I'll leave it at this one.
Rated 28 Dec 2013
87
91st
My respect for Kitano grows with every movie I see from him, and Hana-Bi is no exception. A modern downbeat masterpiece.
Rated 30 Jan 2014
16
79th
The artistic parallel was especially moving for me, never seen that before in a film. The interrelations felt too forced though and the use of silence felt too awkward but I guess thats a matter of preference.
Rated 14 Feb 2014
80
68th
A great movie almost ruined by awful, horrible, treacly, sappy, sentimental music. If somebody rescored this with more appropriate music I would probably give it a perfect rating.
Rated 18 Oct 2014
4
73rd
The film in a word: unexpected. The characters don't speak a lot, yet you get to know them intimately. My favourite? Mr. Horibe. The plot is implausible, yet you connect quickly with these characters. Everything in the film is... sturdy. I liked watching how it held itself up. Nothing seemed fragile, even if it should have been. Watch this one with the English subtitles; I love how they linger.
Rated 25 Oct 2014
90
98th
Watched in 97 and while nearly all the plot is forgotten, so much imagery and the associated emotion remains. A story of imagery and symbols showing the emotional tale that the characters can't tell. How film is supposed to be used.
Rated 13 Feb 2015
76
76th
Watching this I was reminded of both In Bruges (piano, theme) and Bad Lieutenent (characters) -- both of which I adore. Unfortunately having seen both of those first took a bit of the edge off of this one. Also i accidentally watched the last 15 minutes before the rest of it thanks to a cheap dvd with a weird menu. While I appreciate the non-linear structure, it left me a bit confused about who was who -- which dampened the experience for me.
Rated 15 Mar 2016
80
92nd
Kitano's breakthrough is a beautifully bleak film haunted by the spectre of death; a strong melancholic tone prevails, highlighted by the vivid use of blue and silent passages which emphasize the things that his characters do not say but feel. It's a small film defined by delicate contrasts: balancing beauty and ugliness, grace and rage, life and death, Kitano skillfully punctuates moments of sullen serenity with extreme violence, suggesting a worldview that is both tender and brutal.
Rated 31 Mar 2016
95
96th
The action in Hana-Bi is instantaneous. It punctuates long, ruminative scenes that dwell on people coping with loss, alienation and existential crisis. I think Joe Hisaishi's plaintive score actually complements this mood without being mawkish or instructive. The violence itself always feels like an unwelcome distraction that's treated with contempt and quickly disposed of, not only for Nishi (who is a great anti-hero), but for the film itself. Totally unique, and so are Takeshi's paintings.
Rated 22 May 2016
65
44th
I didn't find it technically outstanding as someone told me. Neither so much poetic. But it's well directed and it has some sensibility, yes. The Kitano style that mix humour, violence and introspective scenes works well in entertaining, less in give to the film something to remember: There are a lot of characters and barely we end up to know well one of them, in a characters driven film about a deep life-crisis. Given the theme, a Yin&yang showcase is not enough, neither a bittersweet mood.
Rated 02 Aug 2018
92
91st
Se tem uma expressão precisa para definir o cinema de Takeshi Kitano é delicadeza brutal, porque é exatamente isso que representa. DVD Versátil
Rated 10 Sep 2018
85
93rd
Just the editing that Godard was trying to get at. Highly refreshing how unconventionally this story is told, and unexpectedly humorous in the process.
Rated 11 Nov 2018
85
66th
Needed less violence and more of Kitano and his wife and the suicidal partner with the weird paintings. Not that I don't enjoy Kitano killing people, but there was really no point in making him a stoic badass again in this one - his two relationships were way more interesting, and the film is ultimately held back by how much runtime is devoted to the Yakuza side plot.
Rated 31 Jan 2019
85
90th
I can't decide whether I love the deep character shots set to Joe Hisaishi's score or the artfully sparse silent shots more. Perhaps it's the contrast between the two styles that accentuates the strength in each.
Rated 15 Mar 2019
97
89th
Any of his stuff from this era, honestly. Superb.
Rated 04 May 2020
95
84th
Though a simple drama, quite compelling visually and emotionally.
Rated 06 Jul 2020
85
59th
Viewed July 4, 2020.
Rated 01 Mar 2021
83
82nd
Been reading a bit of Mashima before watching this and felt the kinship. The violence. The love. The lingering on the mundane to create beauty. Might just be me but ya.
Rated 26 Jun 2021
60
47th
I honestly didn't get it. However, that didn't bother me much.
Rated 24 Dec 2021
60
35th
I've liked the other Kitano films I've seen, so I was a bit surprised when I found this one to be blandly formulaic. Tossing in surrealistic paintings didn't shift a quirky blood-splatter-fest into a work of art. Hisaishi's music is beautiful as always.
Rated 24 Aug 2022
71
46th
Mixed feelings. Unusual in that it's a gangster/crime film but approaches it more from kind of a quiet, character study angle that felt like something that could have been made in the '70s in the US (like a Five Easy Pieces or something.) Slow (sometimes to a fault) and meditative, but Kitano plays an interesting character who copes in extreme ways with major life events. I might have rated this lower than I would have due to genre expectations; might be revised upwards with another watch.
Rated 09 Sep 2022
95
96th
The trademark Takeshi Kitano violence is here in spades (and it's as badass as ever) but there's far more beauty and warmth than one might expect given most of his output. The romance at the heart of the film is genuinely sweet and shines due to an easy chemistry that doesn't require dialogue to get how they feel about each other across.
Rated 03 Nov 2022
80
54th
don’t talk to me about dedication to your craft until you’ve gotten into a motorcycle accident and paralysed half your face just to become the best deadpan actor of all time
Rated 07 Dec 2022
96
90th
Time is fleeting, violence is sometimes very necessary and if you're in a jam the local junkyard guy will help you out-for a price. This is probably Takeshi Kitano's best film, or at least his most famous anyways.
Rated 10 Sep 2023
80
72nd
Perhaps I just knew what I was getting into but I liked this a fair bit more than "Sonatine" despite their obvious similarities. The melancholic violence just works here and some of the shots are pure poetry.

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