Kikujiro (1999)
- Original title
- 菊次郎の夏
- Directed by
- Takeshi Kitano
- Genre
- comedy film, comedy drama
- Country
- Japan
- Runtime
- 1h 57m
- Rated
- 12
- Rating
- 7.5 of 10 from 603 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A young boy sets out on a summer road trip to find his mother. He is accompanied by a gruff and unreliable man who teaches him about the strange and kind people they meet along the way.
light-heartedbittersweetwhimsicalgentlemelancholicquirkyslow-burntender
What happens
Kikujiro (Japanese: 菊次郎の夏, Hepburn: Kikujirō no Natsu; lit. Kikujirō's Summer) is a 1999 Japanese road drama film written, directed and co-edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the film with Yusuke Sekiguchi. Its score was composed by Joe Hisaishi. The film was entered into the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Kikujiro tells the story of a young boy searching for his mother during his summer vacation. The film is mostly divided into smaller chapters, listed as entries in the boy's summer vacation diary. Kitano's inspiration for the character (not the film) was his own father, Kikujiro Kitano, a gambler who struggled to feed his family and pay the rent. Similar to his earlier works A Scene at the Sea and Getting Any?, Kitano references the yakuza only tangentially in Kikujiro, a departure from his work in crime dramas such as Sonatine and Hana-bi. Aimed at the whole family, the film was allegedly inspired by The Wizard of Oz with the basic premise being a road trip. Kitano's familiar elements and locales are present: drawings, vignettes, the seaside, and angels. Although the plot is composed largely of sad events, the film often has a light-hearted atmosphere, achieved mostly through Kitano's character and his somewhat bizarre encounters. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Avec mon mari (1999)
Don't Look Back (1999)
Moonlight Whispers (1999)
M/Other (1999)
GTO: The Movie (1999)
I LOVE YOU (1999)
Kaza-hana (1999)
Adrenaline Drive (1999)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.