Framing Kitano Takeshi article

I’ve been a Takeshi Kitano fan for quite a while so I have decided to comment on the article “Framing Kitano Takeshi” at http://www.international.ucla.edu/asia. The article comments on Kitano’s shift toward nationalism, namely with Fireworks/Hana-bi (1997), in his film making and also on his obsession with suicide as denouement in his films.

I’ve seen numerous films by Beat Takeshi and I highly recommend any one of them. (More recently Kitano tackled the Zatoichi role and presented an excellent performance as the blind swordsman.) I have always been fascinated by the way in which Kitano commits suicide in almost every film. I chalked it up to pastiche, and/or a comment on the tradition of hara-kiri. The article commented on criticism of Kitano’s use of suicide, arguing that there is a strong suggestion of and a negative alignment with WWII suicide bombers. Kitano’s response, as quoted in the article, shed more light on the subject. Kitano says, "There is no doubt there is evil in the eyes of the law, but [the Japanese] forgive evil if accompanied by the intention to commit suicide. Such romanticism flows in the blood of every Japanese and we must face it." I find it very comforting that Kitano embraces this aspect of his culture and does not try to rewrite history. In American cinema we rarely see this. Rather we consistently see history rewritten and sundry American practices conveniently left out of our “new” histories. Suicide for Kitano allows the audience to empathize with the bad guy while not necessarily condoning the evil of his/her actions. Quite the opposite in American cinema. We tend to root for the bad guy secretly jealous that we can not get away with those same “evil” acts in or society. We love it when our bad guys get away. Kitano’s characters only get away via suicide. (Side note: It would be nice to take do a Buddhist/Christian reading of this “to be or not to be” theme in east/west cinema.) A great starting point would be to watch the American crossover film Brother wherein everyone dies.

The article ends with a nice quote from Kitano commenting on his use of nationalist symbols in his films: "I am Japanese. And so I am trying to find a Japanese style."