Director: Gekidan Hitori
Cast: Yuya Yagira , Hiroyuki Onoue , Mugi Kadowaki , Morio Kazama , Honami Suzuki , Nobuyuki Tsuchiya , Yô Ôizumi , Kurt Kanazawa , Keiko Agena , Feodor Chin , Harrison Xu (V)
Plot: A young man drops out of school to make a career in the arts. He quickly finds a gig by shadowing one of the most famous entertainers in Japan. Before he hit it big, Takeshi Kitano got his start apprenticing with comedy legend Fukami of Asakusa. But as his star rises, his mentor's declines:( Takeshi is taught to practice being an entertainer day and night, awake or sleeping. He should inhabit the persona. At the same time theatre is becoming less popular as people gravitate to their televisions!
My Movie Review: The movie is brighter than expected based on the Japanese comedian and filmmaker's memoir, affectionate portrait is lit up' by Yuya Yagira's transformative performance:) Asakusa Kid is a story about the wonderful people of the Asakusa France Za theatre which undoubtedly changed his life and this movie is a thank you to those a satisfyingly intimate view of his formative years Kurt's performance was so good that at the first scene I thought Takeshi himself was appearing, it was nostalgic and heart warming a journey worth taking comes alive when it steps away from all formulaic biography and lets loose with fantasy and magic realism:) Yuya Yagira is the main star of the movie portraying the film legend Takeshi Kitano's humble beginnings but Yagira is such a talented and charismatic actor that one almost forgot this was real life bittersweet biopic about Japanese filmmaker/ actor Kitano and his sensai comedian Fukami. It’s the typical tear-jerking Japanese drama though shot with sincerity and restraint by the director and brilliantly acted out by them that the emotions still feel so genuine and honest:) If this biopic does not relate his cinematic experience and mastery, nor explore his writing and painting talents, it has the singular merit of highlighting what is the basis of his life as an artist: laughter and irreverence, relentlessness and humility its a great movie I feel it hitting my heart:)
Critics Reviews: Asakusa Kid is not the sprawling account of Takeshi Kitano’s life you might expect, but instead is a satisfyingly intimate, focussed view of his formative years. A film definitely worth watching, not only for Kitano or Japanese cinema fans, but the afterthought it leaves is definitely that of a 'what if', particularly regarding the what the material could be in the hands of more experienced director. Beat Takeshi is a beloved figure, and seeing his formative years is informative even this film somewhat subdued almost in reverence to the man. Asakusa Kid makes for diverting entertainment as far as it goes, but brings down the curtain just as the real story is about to begin. The Asakusa Kid has many entertaining moments, but falls short in its characterization of Take. All Audience: A pleasure. You can feel, almost smell the Japanese entertainment district of the old days in this film, an era I was lucky enough to catch faded glimpses of in the 90s spending far too much time in izakayas and small bars. Superb acting, beautiful, but bittersweet nostalgia. The intimate scale of the film beautifully mirroring the lives of the characters, all just bit players in what made those entertainment quarters what they were. They were locked on their well worn paths, yet we are fortunate that one breaking free from the norm gave us reason to look back. Very sweet autobiography of the great Takeshi "Beat" Kitano! Very enjoyable if you are a fan of Takeshi Kitano' a part two that would be great:)
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