REVIEW: Hani-Bi By Luke Buckmaster (bucky@alphalink.com.au)
Cast: 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko, Kishimoto, Ren Osugi, Susumu Terajima, Tetsu Watanabe, Hakurya, Taro Itsumi, Makoto Ashikawa, Yuko Daike Director: Takeshi Kitano Screenplay: Takeshi Kitano Australian theatrical release: September 3, 1998
>From 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 5 stars
>From its gentle opening images to the final, terrifying moment, it is clear that Hana-Bi has skillfully avoided the not so subtle subtleties of American cinema. Japanese media star "Beat" Takeshi Kitano wrote, directed, starred in and edited this film, and this is the first Kitano movie ever released in Australia. The screenplay has plenty of guns and violence, but the counterpart is an emotional element unlike any other in recent memory. Its protagonist is often an aggressive, deadly and obnoxious character, but he also provides the basis for an exquisite insight into human endeavors of loss, redemption, courage and faith.
Hana-Bi means "flower" and "fire," but when converted into English you get Fireworks. That's a pity, because the conversion loses the dual meaning of Kitano's title. I have a feeling that the dialogue in Hani-Bi has suffered from the same loss of coherency; perhaps a little less so, but it's still evident none the less. Although, it was a wise move to edit subtitles into the English version, and not have it dubbed. John Woo's 1989 thriller Die xue shuang xiong (known in western countries as The Killer) demonstrated how ridiculously simplistic converted dialogue can be.
For most of the film, former cop Nishi (Kitano) and his wife Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto) barely speak a word; their silence says more than anything else could. Miyuki is dying of Leukemia, and Nishi is determined to do as much as he can to make sure that her last moments on Earth are cherished. Other dramatic elements complicate his life, including his best friend Horibe (Ren Osugi) becoming a paraplegic after an unprecedented assault. "Working is all I have known my whole life," Horibe says, now on a wheelchair outside his seaside home. To pass the time, Horibe takes up painting, whilst Nishi resorts to crime - robbing a bank in order to pay for an exotic holiday for him and his wife.
The above synopsis may sound a little wanky and sentimental, but that's the best insight I can give into a film which cannot be defined or categorized. It would be easy to label Hana-Bi as a drama, an action/drama or an action/drama/comedy, but none prove to be satisfactory definitions. Though in Japanese, Kitano has written Hana-Bi in a universal language. The language of loss, redemption, courage and faith.
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