Movies Hana-Bi

I'm just wondering if anyones seen this movie? I saw it a couple of nights ago. I liked it heaps. It did get a bit confusing though. To anyone who hasn't seen it, its a japanese drama/thriller about a cop who decides to leave the force after his partner is injured in a shooting. From what I got he's then chased by Japanese Mafia and tries to flee, along with his wife, who's suffering from cancer.... I could be wrong though, if anyone else who's seen it has something to add or change if I'm wrong feel free to!

It is however a really good movie, my favourite asian film since A Man called Hero

 

Never seen or heard of it before,
of course I seen several other good asian movies (Mostly Horror)

-Evil Dead Trap (Japanese)
-Tetsuo (Japanese)
-The Untold Story (Chinese)
-Shiri (Korean)

 

I have indeed seen Hanabi and its is fackin excellent.
Its about how 3 cops try to get on with thier lives after one of thier best friends (and a family man) Tanaka is killed in action. The focus of the story is the one Kyo mentioned, who is a bad asse with a tendancy for such behaviour as beating people up with folded paper, removing peoples eyes with chopsticks and sticking his finger in someones gun hammer to stop them firing. He is played by the director Kitano "Beat" Takashi who has a tendacy to cast himself as his own kick-butte main characters. and why not?
The side story is that of another cop, made paraplegic in the gunfight that killed Tanaka trying to live a new life as an artist (the paintings he makes were actually done by "beat" takeshi-what a diva) The scene where he is trying to decide how to wear the beret that the main character gave him is great.

One of the "thug" characters also has priceless hair.

If you like "Beat" Takeshi. Check out "Boys Return" if you can get your hands on a copy. Its about 2 high school prankster freinds that go thier seperate ways but learn life lessons both ways because of it. One becomes a boxer, the other a Yakuza. Good stuff. Takeshi features in it briefly as a Yakuza sub chief with the guy who played nice-family-man Tanaka as one of his nastier sword weilding subordinates.

 

only japanese films i've seen are

Brother (not sure if it's a japanese film tbh, but alot of th edialog is in japanese, and the main character is.. bleh, we'll just go along with it for now )

and Battle Royale.. which is a BRILLIANT sodding movie, luvvit!

 

Mishi (Tanaka) is always wearing dark glasses..... that was funny that part

 

Tanaka is the family man that gets killed.
Takeshi's character is called 'Nishi' (West, I believe).
I think the movie is sort of a revenge drama but Nishi is getting revenge against heartless authority, the police department in the main, rather than the Yakuza. I think he'd be happy to let the Yakuza live if the silly bastards would only stop pestering him. The father and daughter in the junkyard are great too.

I haven't seen a Takeshi movie I didn't like so far but there's a bunch I haven't seen apparently.

On the subject of Japanese films generally, Ring and Ring 2 are pretty good horror films.

 

Yeah, I seeeeen it. That film was so cool. Kitano rules. Other cool japanese films are Ring and Ring 2(And possibly riing 0, I haven't seen it). I'd like to see more Kitano fimls though, he's in Battle Royal too.

 

Mmmmmmm Battle Royale...

Mitsuko so made that movie