a review of 菊次郎的夏天

Kikujiro is an odd blend of drama and comedy, filmed in an original, playful style, with surrealistic touches. I'm a 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano aficionado, who directed it and plays a humorous lead role. Most scenes in Kikujiro are characterized by a distinct timing and balanced screen compositions, establishing a dry humor. In my humble opinion, Kikujiro would have been more satisfactory if it was about twenty minutes shorter. In the last part the various zany games that are played made me lose my focus a little. But all in all, Kikujiro was definitely worth watching.