Fireworks

(Hana-bi, Takeshi Kitano, Japan 1997, 103 min., 35mm, Japanese w/subtitles)

Takeshi Kitano. Takeshi Kitano’s masterpiece is a stirring combination of the subtlety and emotional depth of classic Japanese cinema with the high-energy action and violence of Hollywood genre filmmaking. Kitano plays stoic cop Nishi, whose mettle is tested when his partner is crippled in a stakeout while Nishi is home tending to his terminally ill wife. Exploding like the titular fireworks, Nishi unleashes a violent retribution that is as viscerally shocking as it is gorgeously cinematic.