Takeshis'

Not yet sixty, is it too early for Kitano (Beat) Takeshi 北野武 to review his own life? He did just that with his new film “Takeshis’.” It was a fascinating settling of account, of sort. Almost no one is excluded; producers, co-stars, rivals, Yakuzas, agents, police, neighbours, mah-jong players, fans, etc., even Takeshi himself and the characters he played. Marked by his trademark sense of dark deadpan humour, he killed almost every one of them more then once. In the end, it was a note explaining the nihilistic Yakuzas he plays so famously. It is unique to see such a negative self-portrait. It makes me wonder how he goes on doing what he is doing. Maybe that is why he made this film before he arrives at the end of his career, he just have to vent somehow. His subconscious asserted itself and made this a far more interesting film than Zatoichi.