Hana-bi (1997)

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Guionista:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

20 marzo 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Nishi is a cop whose wife is slowly dying of Leukemia. One of his partners gets shot on the job and...

Plot Keywords:

Disturbing | Violence | Organized Crime | Violent Movie | Stakeout

Awards:

21 wins & 16 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

A breath of fresh air. It's rare poetry -- a sentient piece with unflinching strength. MUST SEE for film appreciation buff.

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Yoshitaka Nishi (as 'Beat' Takeshi)
Kayoko Kishimoto	...	Miyuki, Nishi's wife
Ren Osugi	...	Horibe
Susumu Terajima	...	Nakamura
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Tesuka
Hakuryu	...	Yakuza Hitman
Yasuei Yakushiji	...	Criminal
Taro Istumi	...	Kudo
Kenichi Yajima	...	Doctor
Makoto Ashikawa	...	Tanaka
Yuuko Daike	...	Tanaka's widow
Edamame Tsumami	...	Businessman Throwing Rocks
Yûrei Yanagi	...	Chef #1
Sujitarou Tamabukuro	...	Chef #2
Tokio Seki	...	Old Hick
Motoharu Tamura	...	Chief Detective
Hitoshi Nishizawa	...	Yakuza Head
listado alfabético del resto del reparto:
Setchin Kawaya	...	Male Bank Customer #3
Shoko Kitano	...	Girl Who Flies Kite (as Shoko Matsuda)
Kiyoko Kitazawa	...	Nurse B
Takayuki Konishi	...	Detective B
Rinko Morikawa
Yoshiyuki Morishita	...	Hoodlum B
Shûji Ôtsuki
Kanji Tsuda
Keiko Yamamoto	...	Nurse A

Dirigida por
Takeshi Kitano

Créditos del guión (in alphabetical order)
Takeshi Kitano		written by

Producida por
Kazuhiro Furukawa	....	co-producer
Hiroshi Ishikawa	....	co-producer
Kouichi Miyagawa	....	associate producer
Masayuki Mori	....	producer
Hideto Osawa	....	associate producer
Yasushi Tsuge	....	producer
Shigeru Watanabe	....	associate producer
Yoshito Yamazaki	....	line producer
Takio Yoshida	....	producer

Música original por
Joe Hisaishi

Fotografía por
Hideo Yamamoto

Montaje por
Takeshi Kitano
Yoshinori Oota

Dirección artística
Norihiro Isoda

Decorados
Tatsuo Ozeki

Diseño de vestuario por
Masami Saito

Ayudante de dirección
Hiroshi Shimizu	....	assistant director

Departamento de sonido
Senji Horiuchi	....	sound
Akira Nakano	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Hitoshi Takaya	....	gaffer

Music Department
Suminobu Hamada	....	music mixer
Shinichi Tanaka	....	music mixer

Production Companies

• Bandai Visual Company
• Office Kitano
• TV Tokyo
• Tokyo FM Broadcasting Co.

Distributors

• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Atalanta Filmes (Portugal)
• Channel Neko (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Dendy Films
• Gativideo (Argentina) (VHS)
• Herald Film Company (Japan)
• Líder Films (Argentina)
• Madman Entertainment (2002) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
• Maywin Media (CIS)
• Maywin Media (Estonia)
• Maywin Media (Latvia)
• Maywin Media (Lithuania)
• Milestone (1998) (USA) (subtitled)
• Momentum Pictures (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Momentum Pictures (2001) (UK) (all media)
• Prem'er Video Fil'm (Russia) (VHS)
• Shu Kei's Creative Workshop Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2005) (Slovenia) (all media)
• Warner Bros. Finland (Finland)

Other Companies

• Aoi Studio  
• Big Shot  
• Carstunt Taka  
• Daiichi Isho  
• Ito Jidosha  
• K&L  
• Keihan Shoukai  
• Kodak Japan  
• Nicker Colour  art cooperation
• Nikkatsu Studio  
• Nippon Shomei  
• Oshitani Lighting Service  
• P2  
• Popeye Art  
• Takatsu Soshyoku Bijutsu  
• Tokyo Genzosho  
• Wonder City  
• Yoshikawa Casting Office  casting

También conocida como:

Fireworks
Flores de fuego (Argentina) [es]
Hana-bi. Flores de fuego (Spain) [es]

Duración:

103 min

País:

Japan

Idioma:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby

Clasificación:

France:U | New Zealand:R18 | Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | Australia:MA

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Trivialidades:

The Japanese title translates into 'Fireworks", but if you look further into the basis of the Japanese character for 'fireworks', you will see that it is composed of two smaller words-- 'fire' and 'flower'. And like the linguistic basis of the title, the story and style of "Hana-Bi" is the synthesis of two opposing images, one being an agent of destruction, and the other a symbol of birth and renewal.

Quotes:

Horibe: Work is all I've ever known.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cure (1997)

A breath of fresh air. It's rare poetry -- a sentient piece with unflinching strength. MUST SEE for film appreciation buff.

It's lyrical poetry: sensitive, eloquent, visual, hard and soft edges simultaneously, and sparing dialog. There's no need to tell all -- all is conveyed in the paintings presented, in the words spoken by supporting characters, in facial expressions and gestures. It's minimal -- nothing's gratuitous. The story is told mostly visually, unhurried, not even a hold-up scene -- that feels leisurely, too.

It's a story about a cop, miles apart from Hollywood commercial productions. The treatment writer-director Kitano delivered is unlike any seen before. The central character, Nishi, he has guts to live or to die. "He's a darn good cop," Horibe his partner confirmed. (Horibe, whose poignantly restrained performance by Ren Osugi, is more than just a supporting role in the film). Nishi has two close partners: one (Tanaka) died in action and left a widow, the other crippled in action and confined to a wheelchair. His wife Miyuki (a wonderfully quiet performance from Kayoko Kishimoto) is in the hospital; she's been ill for two years; their daughter died earlier. These details are given to us through casual conversations from supporting characters and flashback memories reflecting Nishi's constantly attentive mind in spite of his mostly blank face.

He's a caring man. But when he is ignited, incensed by injustice or anyone's action or words that get in his way, his reaction is the other extreme of his subdued gentleness inside: an unhesitating steady strike or continuous multiple blows, or "emptying his bullets into a corpse." He has a lot of pent-up emotions ready to explode. Nishi is an honorable man; he felt responsible for the misfortunes that occurred to his two partners. Perhaps it's guilt; he has to do something to amend the situation. There are crime depictions, including Yakuza related segments. His physical reactions to thugs are unflinching to the point of brutal yet they are essentially graphic -- at times in powerful silence.

He's a pensive man -- we can tell he's constantly thinking. There are occasional comic relieving pauses: we see him taking a moment and even breaking into a smile, e.g., when he beckons to play ball with the two workers on the street while at a stake out; his brief exchange with the junkyard owner was revealing. It's all paced in good measure.

It's a quiet film yet strong and deep, filled with human frailties and vulnerable situations. The relationship between he and his wife is beyond words. There are little mutual gestures between the two of them -- so much is expressed silently. Sometimes it's straight to the point short questions from Nishi to his wife -- and this could be delivered to us in voice-overs. The camera gives us serene scenic landscapes: seaside view with a horizon -- waves rolling in being a repeated theme; snow scenes; a temple with a big bell and a few wandering cats. It also embraces the paintings and still lifes (e.g., a wooden puzzle game and two dessert plates on a table), giving us deliberate meaningful close-ups. In HANA-BI, silence speaks louder than effects of any kind.

The film touches on aspects of life and living -- relationships of working partners, husband and wife, and being human. It's a canvas Kitano thoughtfully creatively painted on film -- broad strokes, little poignant details here and there, vibrant solid colors and imageries. Words are sparse. Simple and yet not at all simple. It could be evident that perhaps he did it all for love? His love for his wife certainly shows. Throughout the film, his face seemed void of emotions -- hardly flinches -- and in the end, possibly a flinch or two did cross his face. Perhaps he's resigned to fate?

The music by Jo Hisaishi at times is reminiscent of European film scores, e.g., flowing tune following a car leisurely cruising along the seaside road at some Riviera of Italy or Southern France. It complements the story in soothing tempo from beginning to end. Kitano's "FIREWORKS" is in perfect cadence -- an excellent piece of film expression. A rare gem.