Kitano could have finished quite fittingly with Achilles and the Tortoise. It was quite clear from the self based character in that film that he feels/fears he is at a creative dead end. I hope he still has a masterpiece in him at some point.
It got mixed reviews in Cannes but I thought it was very strong. From what I remember of Brother, this is a far sharper film, and integrates some of his self-reflection from his last few pictures.
Daniel, i hope you are right! To be more specific, i hope i agree! :-) Because i wasn’t too keen on Kitano’s ‘self reflexive’ period. Sure they were interesting films to ponder, but to me this type of film making represents a creative dead end. Kennard is right that Kitano was deeply aware of this fact, but that doesn’t make it any more appealing, at least not to me anyway.
A return to the gangster genre was not really what i expected though. Kitano has proven himself a versatile director, and i wouldn’t mind another film in the style of Dolls to be honest. That was the last film of his to impress me.
He returns to it with self-awareness. I can’t comment on the earlier films because I’ve only seen Tortoise, but I’ve heard good things about Takeshis’ but specifically about Glory to the Filmmaker. Anyway, I wrote about Outrage here.
Takeshis’ was not very good. Just my opinion of course, but I think 4 out of 5 of Kitano fans would agree. I’d still like to watch the couple others that haven’t been released over here. I’m in no hurry though.
^^i certainly agree. It wasn’t very good at all.s Glory To The Filmmaker was definitely an improvement, but still not up to the level of his classic work.
Some fans love Glory though and rate it up with his best.
“I’ve heard good things about Takeshis’”
From where? Takeshis’ is abysmal. His worst film I’ve seen by far and that includes Brother (although I hear Glory to the Filmmaker might be worse but I think someone here might have told me that).
Yeah, I agree Joks. I had high hopes for Outrage as a return to Sonatine/Fireworks form but it doesn’t seem like it’s that film.
Outrage is purer than those two films, which have a melancholy air that gives space to a nice sentimentality. The new film has a mission, and nearly carries with out extreme precision. Much different tenor than Sonatine and Fireworks, unforgiving but very enjoyable.
Sounds very interesting. It’s true that Kitano has his sentimental side; but when he’s in peak form, he’s one of the rare filmmakers that can get away with it in my book. Hell, I even like Kikujiro.
^^sentiment is not necessariliy a bad thing, provided it’s kept in check. it’s usually not though.
Kikujiro was great, but maybe too long for what it is.
Let’s hope Outrage is as good as what Daniel says it is.
When does Outrage hit theaters?
Finally caught up with Outrage. I thought it was great. Maybe not on par with Sonatine or Fireworks but a clear return to form.
“To that end, Outrage introduces a convoluted, virtually incomprehensible plot involving various rival families, then proceeds to spend the better part of two hours annihilating its entire ensemble cast, one by one (with occasional group massacres).”
The plot isn’t very convoluted. It keeps the simplicity of his earlier works in some ways. It juxtaposes its no honor among thieves up against the rigidity of gangster codes of loyalty and honor. The characters are thrown into a double-crossing vortex in which one minor event quickly escalates into a trigger effect of retaliation, revenge, and betrayal that steamrolls everyone involved. Its also fairly pitiless and relentless. It embraces the logic of its fatalism – there’s surprisingly little actual Outrage in the film. Like Daniel says, there’s also no sentimentality at all. The violence in the film is quite effective too. I’m really surprised it didn’t do better (it’s nothing like Brother).
Brother was by far his most flawed film but I really loved it.
Outrage was meh to me.
I thought Outrage was just decent. maybe 3 stars at best. hardly a return to form, but not a disgrace either.
That’s it, Joks? I thought you’d be more into it.
hmm…..maybe i should give it another chance. I know the guy i watched it with really enjoyed it, and he finds Takeshi hit and miss.
I stand by the point i made a while ago. His last great film was Dolls imo. That was the last one that really impressed me.
I think it’s actually the closest thing he’s ever made to Violent Cop, as far as the act of nailing the absurdity of violence into the viewer’s head in a way that pierces the skull and comes out from the other side goes. Stylistically they’re quiet different though.
I have to wonder how the Yakuza view this film, since it portrays them as being dangerous, but often confusing and disloyal, almost on par with the mafia in Ghost Dog in their ineptitude.
^
Takeshi Kitano has stated that as a kid much of the yakuza he and his friends looked up to would strongly advise them to not follow in their footsteps, so perhaps they view it as an accurate depiction of their ways?
Joks
ok, i just saw the trailer for this, and the vibe i get is closer to ‘Brother’ than his earlier films like ‘Violent Cop’ and ‘Sonatine’. The Warner Brothers logo at the beginning of the trailer i saw sent shivers up my spine. It shouldn’t have, but it did. The reviews have been decidedly mixed. This quote is from the AV club:
the AV Club, Mike D’Angelo gives Outrage a C+ — “Emerging from a creative wilderness that involved a great deal of bizarre self-reflection — little-seen pictures like Takeshis’ (2005) and Glory to the Filmmaker! (2007) rank among the weirdest movies ever made by a brand-name auteur — Kitano has apparently decided to see what happens if he strips his signature genre exercise of everything save for its most crowd-pleasing element, viz. abrupt, gory violence. To that end, Outrage introduces a convoluted, virtually incomprehensible plot involving various rival families, then proceeds to spend the better part of two hours annihilating its entire ensemble cast, one by one (with occasional group massacres).”"^^that sounds a lot like Brother to me. Confusing, overly convoluted plot, excessive action etc. The violence in ‘Brother’ didn’t feel particularly artful at all. I liked it—although it left a bad taste in my mouth on first viewing—but overall, it’s one of his weaker efforts.
Outrage looks too similar for my liking. I hope i’m wrong.