HANA-BI (はなび)

Directed by: Takeshi Kitano
Country of origin: Japan
Starring: Beat Takeshi, Kayoko Kishimoto, Ken Osugi
Music by: Joe Hisaishi


Returning from my hiatus of college beginning once again, I thought it best to start out fresh with one of my favorite films, Takeshi "Beat" Kitano's HANA-BI, or Fireworks, as it was released in the United States. HANA-BI is considered the auteur Kitano's greatest film, covering a vast array of themes and conflicts and giving audiences the best showcase of exactly what "Beat" stands for as a director. Throughout his large list of works, Kitano has experimented with most mainstream Japanese genres; everything from dramas like HANA-BI and Kikujiro to art films like Dolls, and even verging to the avant garde with his "Existential Trilogy". Kitano is most known for his earlier films focusing on yakuza endeavors, which he, in one form or another, incorporates into each one of his movies. HANA-BI is no exception, only this time instead of playing a yakuza, Kitano plays the central role of a disgraced cop turned criminal, giving viewers something of an omniscient view over all of the films' context. HANA-BI is such a successful film because it delivers touches of drama, comedy, action, and a taste of Japanese values to a very unexposed American audience. 

Shocked and bloodied Nishi

Kitano plays the central role of Nishi, a quiet retired cop with a troubled past. Violence and death have surrounded Nishi for his entire adult life, with regular violent run-ins with the yakuza, the murder of his old partner, the crippling of his best friend, and the sudden death of his five year old daughter. Needless to say, Nishi has much to be depressed about, and the once cool-mannered and just cop not only resigned his position as a policeman but also adopted a ruthless aggression. At the death of his partner, Nishi's stress overflowed and he emptied his gun into the corpse of the perpetrator. This sparked his downfall. On top of all of this, his wife is terminally ill and has only weeks to live. Nishi seems to contemplate this throughout the film, saying little to nothing but taking the time to stop and evaluate often, Kitano's trademark deadpan doing its trick. As we see this decorated retired cop involve himself with the yakuza, rob a bank, and brutally batter dozens of people, Kitano subtly asks us to decide whether Nishi is good or bad. Although his actions are shocking and immoral, he does everything for honest causes and consistently shows signs of the tenderness that he once possessed. He shares innocent jokes with the junkyard owner, his partner in crime of sorts. He stands up for his wife and tends to her in silent fashion. The audience cheers for the antihero Nishi, and we find ourselves laughing and empathizing with him even as he abruptly beats and kills people. In a nutshell, Nishi as a character is very complex, both intellectually and in regarding his past. We never really know what's going through his head, and even in the film's last seconds, when we think we have him figured out, the plot twists one last time.

One of many of Kitano's own painting featured in the film, symbolizing his real-life experiences 

Like all of his films, HANA-BI is a very personal piece to Kitano. He wrote the screenplay while recovering from a traumatic motorcycle accident and also took up painting during his hiatus. The situation that the crippled detective Horibe finds himself in is in fact a parallel to Beat's own experience. The crash left half of his body paralyzed, thus leaving him trapped in a wheelchair for several months. When you look at the emotions that Horibe went through, you begin to realize how sad Kitano's life was at that point. Suicide was such a vivid motif throughout HANA-BI, and one can only come to wonder how prevalent the thought was inside Kitano's own head. But he did eventually rehabilitate and overcome his injury, and from it it seems as though he discovered one of life's true gifts, in his case his passion of painting. HANA-BI has such an array of symbols and hidden themes, critics could watch it time and time again and still find new layers of meaning. The gunshot resembling the sound of a firework, the firework resembling the shape of a vibrant flower, a flower symbolizing the purest, most beautiful form of life. The motifs go on, and dozens of conclusions can be drawn from the film's varied phases of emotions and particular visuals. Which is the right one? Well, perhaps none are wrong. After all, I firmly believe HANA-BI to be the direct translation of the mountain of thought and emotion that was built inside a lonely man. When Kitano was injured, people verbally doubted that he would ever return, but instead of an early retirement, he produced Fireworks. Like himself, Nishi was a broken man who was forced to act, and no matter the manner or consequence, he did what he had to do to meet his goals. This seems to be a motto to live by, and one that Takeshi constantly relies on throughout his works. To me HANA-BI is a veritable rainbow of messages and emotions and one of the finest pieces of modern Japanese cinema. I could sit here and write pages about what the film says and what it does to me as a viewer. Needless to say, Kitano's classic has reinvigorated me once again, and I'm all the more eager to jump back into some more spectacular cinema.

***** / *****