Today is the Director-In-Focus day, with 3 movies by writer-director-producer-comedian- etc Kitano Takeshi. And the three movies are all quite different in nature, with this one being one of Kitano's directorial efforts without being in front of the camera, Hana-bi being the violent movies he's come to be famous for, and Kikujiro at the other end, being non-violent but full of heartwarming fun.Kids Return is a semi-autobiographical movie, and you can see shades of Kitano, reel or real, in some of the characters. Primarily, it focuses on the lives of two slacker best of friends, Masaru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando), who play truant frequently, and are ever threatened with expulsion from school. They have no aim in life, and are drifting and wasting their time and youth away, acting up as the ruffians and bullies in school.Two events change their lives though. One is a run in with a boxer, who inspires them to pick up boxing so that they could get a rematch of sorts. The other is the Yakuza, represented by a group who frequents the same diner they go to. From then on, the movie picks up, as we follow the very different paths these two buddies take. I kinda like the way the movie presented this aspect of life - that even amongst the best of buddies, there will come a point in time where your ideals and aspirations take you down different paths. But although your lifestyle might have changed, at the end of the day, when you get together, you're still the best of friends. This is very true, that you never really left each other, and the door is forever open for you to catch up from where you left off. Different paths, different lives, parallel outcomes.The movie's very easy to follow with its straight forward narrative, as we follow the timid Shinji in his path towards glory in the boxing ring, and observe from the side the decisions that the brash Masaru make which allows him to rise amongst the gangster ranks. More screen time is devoted to Shinji's though, as at certain points, it looked as if it was the Japanese version of Rocky Balboa. Punctuating the movie isn't The Eye of the Tiger, but Kids Return has a catchy enough soundtrack courtesy of Joe Hisaishi, who frequently scores Takeshi's movies.The movie however, doesn't just bore you with these two friends, as there are enough side characters from the same school, like the disillusioned teachers, and fellow students turned comedians, and one, a sales failure turned taxi driver, to add some layers to the story. But ultimately, it's life as it goes full circle, and it makes you wonder whether good guidance is always that important factor to break the negative lifestyle anyone is living in.Oh, and did I mention this movie had one of the more memorable movie props - a puppet with a makeshift dick made out of a flashlight and two bulbs taped together. You gotta see it to believe!

Kids return was never given theatrical release in the US, probably because Takeshi doesn't actually act in it, and it doesn't focus on Yakuza. Despite this, it is one of his finest films, and definitely among his most accessible.Made during his recovery from a motorcycle accident, the film focuses on a group of highschool students as they prepare to enter into the adult world. The two lead characters are Shinji and Masaru, delinquent losers who are looked down upon by their teachers, and feared by their classmates. After they're set up by the administration and thrown out of school, they fall into amateur boxing and embark onto different paths. We follow not only the two hoods, but their classmates as well, at they all enter into various occupations, trying to become adults and live a good life, and for one reason or another, failing.All this seems fairly conventional until you remember that it was written and directed by Beat Takeshi,who lends it his trademark melancholy sense of style, and injects the script with just enough irony and pathos that it resonates. On a technical level, this is one of Takeshi's finest achievements. I've often felt that in his other works, his simple still frame compositions and slow editing rhythms didn't quite synch with the material, almost as if they resulted more from not knowing what to do with the camera than any kind of personal vision. Here he proves me wrong. Kids Return is directed by a man with a confident and assured hand: the shots, while still easy identifiable as "Kitano-esque" (can we just coin that now), are framed with a poetic eye, fusing themselves to the material to lend it the perfect sense of mood. The editing is smooth, craftsmanlike, aided greatly, as always, by the brilliant music of Jo Hisaishi.The real difference here, though, is the writing. Kitano forgoes his usual rambling improvisational scene construction for a work that is very structured. The plot is circular, and the kids' lives are given a clear step by step descent into nothingness with an edge of Aristotalean inevitability thrown in. The result is something that is not only more coherent, but somehow also manages to be more naturalistic than his other films. Again, Takeshi's hand is still felt: from the affectionately stupid pranks of the leads to the recurring appearance of a twin comedy group, who banter in the style Kitano's own "The Two Beats." But it's organized, more confident. He knows what he wants to say, and how he wants to say it.The acting is uniformly great, with Masanobu Ando (a long way from his almost demonic role as Kiriyama in Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale) a definite standout as Shinji. With little to no dialogue, he still manages to convey a sense of likeability and character. Ken Kaneko plays the more garish of the two, but still maintains the air of innocence that the part requires. There are also fun cameos from Takeshi regulars Ryo Ishibashi (who, happily, is spared any nasty encounters with a piano wire), Ren Osugi, and Susumu Terajima. Perhaps the ultimate compliment to the actors, and to the film itself, is that we don't seeing the man himself on-screen. There's no doubt that Takeshi has one of the brightest, larger than life, screen presences in all of cinema. He so dominates the movies he acts in that they would fall apart without him there. Kids Return, however, stands alone with a strength that seems to almost grow with his absence.Final moments bring our kids back to the school ground where they grow up and the summation given by Masaru transcends the events beforehand in a way that would have made even Ozu proud. Where do you go when you've got nothing to look forward to, and the entire rest of your life still left to live? Kitano's encounter with death has somehow made him even more pessimistic, but at least he came out with something to say.

Along with Fireworks, one of Takeshi Kitano's finest movies. This movie is a story of two high school? slackers who appear to be looking for a purpose in life. One becomes a good boxer and the other one becomes a yakuza member. After going thru their experience, they become more confident and content with their life even though it couldn't be said that they were exactly successful. Like real life, perhaps the experience is the thing. Good acting all around. It's always good to see Susumu Terajima in Takeshi's movies as he's a very good actor. Also very good score by Joe Hisaishi. The movie also appears to criticize the fact that many Japanese people treat everything- life, work, etc. so seriously that they don't take the time to enjoy life. Instead, they "pressure" themselves to do good, even though their heart may not be in it. It's not unlike many recent Japanese films like Shall We Dance or Bouncing KOgals, both also good movies. Overall, a 9 out of 10.

With this film Takeshi takes a look back at the past in the lives of several men who are in the same school. The two protagonists each choose their own direction: one becomes a boxer, the other joins the yakuza. The story is a reflection on how the choices a man makes can affect their lives and their relationships. As always the drama is interwoven with occasional scenes of violence, and the comedy is dark but never too depressing. Everything about Kids Return is good, and therefore another great piece of Japanse film-making.