Hana-bi

Hana-bi (花火 Hanabi) is a 1997 film starring, written, directed by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It was released under the English title Fireworks in the United States, but with its original Japanese title in other English-speaking countries.

The immense international success of Hanabi cemented Kitano's status as one of the foremost Japanese filmmakers of his time.

The title is romanized with a hyphen as Kitano wanted to emphasize the duality of flower (hana) and fire (bi), the literal meanings of the characters that make up "fireworks" in Japanese.

Plot synopsis

Kitano portrays a nice policeman who quits the force and tries to find solace with his dying wife after his partner is paralyzed in a shootout, but he cannot escape the consequences of his past actions. As with his other films that featured yakuza or police, there is sudden, very fast, very briefly shown violence (as when a thug gets a chopstick shoved into his eye), but there is also great tenderness (as in the last scene, where Kitano's character plays on the beach with a teenaged girl and her kite). The paralyzed policeman, played by Ren Ōsugi (another Kitano regular), turns to painting as a way to find meaning in what's left of his life.

All of the paintings shown in the film are Kitano's own creations. Kitano had begun painting after his 1995 motorcycle accident that left half of his body paralyzed for a time.

Kitano doesn't speak much. He mostly act with face gestures.

External links

• Hana-bi at the Internet Movie Database