Trailer
A brutal film
about an (ex-)policeman and his unhappy family.
Hana-Bi
花火
Fireworks
Movie Data
Title: Hana-Bi
Published: 1997
Length: 98 minutes
Staff
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Script: Takeshi Kitano
Music: Joe Hisaishi
Camera: Hideo Yamamoto
Cast
Takeshi Kitano as Yoshitaka Nishi
Kayoko Kishimoto as his wife Miyuki
Ren Ōsugi as Horibe
Susumu Terajima as Nakamura
Tetsu Watanabe as junkyard owner
Hakuryū as Yakuza-Killer
Yasuei Yakushiji as Criminal
Tarō Itsumi as Kudo
Makoto Ashikawa as Tanaka
Yuko Daike as Tanaka's widow
Plot
Yoshitaka Nishi is a plainclothes investigator. While in the hospital learning that his wife Miyuki is terminally ill, his longtime friend and partner Horibe is gunned down during surveillance. When the perpetrator is about to be caught, he first escapes from Nishi, kills the policeman Tanaka and seriously wounds his colleague Nakamura before he is shot by Nishi.
Horibe remains paraplegic and is abandoned by his wife and his daughter, he turns to painting. Suspended from service, Nishi goes into debt with a yakuza, in part to help Tanaka's widow financially. Disguised as a patrolman, he robs a bank to repay his debts and then embarks on a final journey with his wife, which takes them to traditional Japanese destinations such as Mount Fuji. They are followed by the henchmen of the Yakuza, who want to get hold of the remaining loot, and the recovered Nakamura in the performance of his duties.
Notes
Hana-bi (花火) is the name given to the public fireworks that take place every summer in Japan. The deeper meaning of a hana-bi lies in the artistic expression and filigree images, hence the comparison with a flower.
While recovering from a serious motorcycle accident in August 1994, Kitano had begun painting, partly using the pointillist technique. The character of Horibe is based on this biographical detail, the works shown in the film are by Kitano.
The girl on the beach trying to fly a kite is Takeshi Kitano's daughter, Shōko (井子).
Paintings by Takeshi Kitano
