7.9/10
15,790
90 user 87 critic

Kikujirô no natsu (1999)

PG-13 | | Drama, Comedy | 27 April 2000 (Israel)
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.

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4 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
Kikujiro (as Beat Takeshi)
Yusuke Sekiguchi ...
Kayoko Kishimoto ...
The Great Gidayû ...
Biker (as Gurêto Gidayû)
...
Akaji Maro ...
Crazy Man
...
Masao's Mother
Fumie Hosokawa ...
Juggler Girl
Nezumi Imamura ...
An-chan
Bîto Kiyoshi ...
Daigaku Sekine ...
Yakuza Boss
Yôji Tanaka ...
Yakuza Henchman
Makoto Inamiya ...
Yakuza Henchman
Hisahiko Murasawa ...
Yakuza Henchman
Tarou Suwata ...
Stall-keeper
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Storyline

Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro hardly seems the ideal companion for little Masao who is determined to travel long distances to see the mother he has never met. Their excursion to the cycle races is the first of a series of adventures for the unlikely pair which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and odd ball characters to meet along the way. Written by L.H. Wong <[email protected]>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Drama | Comedy

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a threatening incident | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

27 April 2000 (Israel)  »

Also Known As:

Kikujiro  »

Filming Locations:


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Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,079, 28 May 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$198,238, 13 August 2000
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Takeshi Kitano made this gentler film as an antidote to his usual violent gangster movies. See more »

Quotes

Masao: By the way, Mister, what is your name?
Kikujiro: It's Kikujiro, dammit.
See more »

Crazy Credits

There's one more scene after the credits. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Kantoku · Banzai! (2007) See more »

Soundtracks

Summer
Written by Joe Hisaishi
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User Reviews

 
Sweet contemplative film about friendship
2 December 2005 | by – See all my reviews

If it wasn't for the perverted old man and the language, this would probably be a really good children's movie. Who knows, maybe it's intended to be...

Anyway, little Masao lives with his grandmother and has never met his parents: his father is dead and his mother ran away. He knows where his mother lives, however, and wants to go visit her over the Summer, so his kindly neighbor conscripts her profligate husband to take him. "Mister", as Masao calls him, doesn't make the ideal companion with his absurd behavior and his verbal abuse, but they go off to adventure anyways and learn to really connect with each other.

The power this film has lies mostly in its contemplative approach. It's very humorous and isn't really slow, but the camera does take the time to linger on locales, faces, and characters. For a few odd parts here and there, it's still really innocent and it seems to show that most people are kind-natured at heart, even when they project an aura of toughness and abusiveness. An interesting aside to analyze that theme would be the carnival scene, where people entrusted with family entertainment turn out to be violent cheaters, whereas even the heavy-metal biker folk are more than willing to go out of their way to help Masao.

The film itself is from Masao's perspective, as a childhood's slightly photographic memory comes into play, mixed a lot with colorful imagination. The humor is the best part, as it is at times really simple but holds itself up well. There's a lot to enjoy in this film.

--PolarisDiB


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