Review: Takeshi Kitano's Kikujiro.

Kikujiro's Summer is a 1999 road drama directed by comedian and director Takeshi Kitano, who plays the titular role inspired by his own father.

The film revolves around Masao, a young child who lives with his grandmother, and his journey to meet his birth mother during the summer while he is accompanied by the help of the immature slacker Kikujiro.

Kikujiro is my third Kitano film, after Brother and Zatoichi, and is one of the last remaining Kitano films on my watchlist (the other three being Boiling Point, Sonatine and Hana-Bi).

One of the first things you'll notice is this film is a lot less serious than most of his filmography, it's very heartwarming and very humorous. Gangsters are barely mentioned in this film.

As in contrast to most of Kitano's filmography, this film maintains being more of a comedy film than a drama due to him intending to make this a family film (despite touching a couple serious topics). Most of the film had me laughing a bunch as it is genuinely funny, and yet it still managed to keep the, well, drama present to remind you that this film is still serious.

And I like that a lot, balancing the two genres reliably showcases this film and Kitano's flexibility. I managed to stay invested in the drama and the plot all the while enjoying this as I would any other comedy film.

My favorite bit is a running gag that begins when Kikujiro tries to swim and ends up upside down and he spends the rest of the film trying to figure out how to swim and not drown immediately.

Unlike some other films I've seen where I only really liked one guy's performance a lot, maybe two, I have to say everyone had a great performance in this film. They felt alive, they felt unique, they felt real.

Between a nice couple, some friendly bikers and a drifting poet, everyone just felt so natural. Their characters personalities didn't feel forced, they didn't feel like they were complete works of fiction, they felt like people you would meet in real life at some point or another.

Kikujiro is by far my favorite Kitano performance ever, he felt very familiar and honestly kinda comforting, like a friend or a relative I never really had in my life. Despite his immaturity and lack of any real responsibility, he's still aware of what Masao's going through and instead of being super serious and telling him to tough it out, he makes him laugh and they have fun and make a bunch of memories together.

Masao was equally as great, he reminded me of myself throughout my life, a quiet kid who kept his head down in most conflicts, and together they felt like two different sides of who I am.

While Masao is how I am in real life, Kikujiro is much more of the guy I try to be around my friends, even despite the problems I face in real life.

And their two performances kinda kept me....I don't know the right word, grounded maybe? It's what I like a lot about Kitano's films, they remind me to just slow down and focus more on the little things in life.

This film isn't a soap opera, a film with crazy high stakes and tension, or some tragic film that'll have you crying for hours, it's a family film. One that feels much more real than many other films I've seen, it's natural, it's normal. It just, is. The film follows themes of alienation that I could honestly relate to, I'm not normal by any means and I'm kinda proud of that, it's why I can relate to characters like Kikujiro.

And that's the beauty of Kikujiro to me.

If you enjoy road movies, Kitano's films, or just want a decent family/comedy film to watch, I would recommend it. It's not for everyone, but I'm sure a couple people can enjoy it.

That's all this time, Love and Peace!