- Year: 1989
- Country: Japan
- Director: Takeshi Kitano
- Starring: Takeshi Kitano (as “Beat” Takeshi)
I was underwhelmed by this one, Takeshi Kitano’s first feature as a director. He plays a cop with vigilante tactics who goes kinda crazy when he discovers a drug trafficking ring inside the police force and his sister gets kidnapped. The film does have extremely dark and offbeat humor and must have been pretty impressive upon its release, unfortunately we’ve seen this type of film too many times since. I thought the first hour dragged on but the last twenty minutes more than made up for it. I guess the fault here is not starting to watch Kitano’s films chronologically: one’s expectations are then skewed. If you’ve never seen him before, then by all means start with this one and you won’t be disappointed. I liked it, but nothing more.
Cinema Del Peppel 