Independent British distributors Third Window Films have confirmed that they will add to their Blu-ray catalog two more films from Takeshi Kitano:
A Scene at the Sea (1991), starring Claude Maki, Hiroko Ôshima, and Sabu Kawahara, and
Kids Return (1996), starring Ken Kaneko, Masanobu Andô, and Leo Morimoto. The two releases are expected to arrive on the market in May.
Kids Return
Masaru and Shinji are two high school juvenile delinquents who spend their time extorting classmates for small change. After Masaru is beaten up by a former victim, the pair go to a local gym to learn how to box. Shinji, however, proves to have much more innate talent than Masaru, who abandons the sport to join the local yakuza gang. After Masaru's departure, Shinji falls in with Hayashi, an older boxer whose unhealthy influence pulls the youth down. Meanwhile, Masaru's arrogant behavior is getting him into trouble with his gang. Eventually, the two friends' downward spirals of life meet again at their old school.
Kids Return was the first film from acclaimed Japanese director Takeshi Kitano (
Sonatine, Hana-Bi) following his near-fatal motorcycle accident in 1994. Kitano was to undergo a long and painful physical rehabilitation, and
Kids Return reflects his struggle in the question at its heart: Which is more difficult, to die or to go on living? Featuring a beautiful music score by Joe Hisaishi (
Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, Sonatine),
Kids Return is a minimalist masterpiece filled with irony and melancholy.
A Scene at the Sea
Shigeru is a deaf-mute teenager who works as a garbage collector. When he happens upon a battered surfboard, it plants in him the dream of becoming a surfing champion. He also meets Takako, a young deaf-mute woman who becomes his girlfriend and lends him her constant support during the difficult practice sessions and competitions. Throughout the summer, their profound expression of love transcends their silence.
This lyrical masterpiece from acclaimed Japanese actor and director Takeshi Kitano (
Kids Return, Sonatine, Hana-Bi) reminds us that images are often as powerful as words. A heartbreakingly romantic departure from Kitano's usual subject matter of gangs and criminals,
A Scene at The Sea also features a beautiful music score by Joe Hisaishi (
Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, Sonatine).