Abroad in Japan Patreon Exclusive Q&A: SUBMIT Your Questions! | *FILM FRIDAY* "Fireworks" (1999) (Patreon)

TRAVEL, WORK, YOUTUBE, STUDY, FILMS, CATS, ANYTHING.

While there's no Q&A video this month on the Abroad in Japan channel, I'm still holding one here on Patreon next week answering your questions.

With that in mind folks, submit your questions in the comment section of this post and it'll hopefully featured in next week's Patreon exclusive video

I'll also share some scenes from the upcoming sushi restaurant documentary and discuss tips on studying Japanese, following on from my recent success studying the language again properly for the first since 2015.

And finally, if you missed the post earlier this week featuring a sneak peek at the next Abroad in Japan video check it out here: https://youtu.be/dmgBIY5on7s

Right then, without further ado here's what you need to watch this Friday!

Fireworks / はなび (1999), Drama Director: Takeshi Kitano

Odds are you’ve already seen or heard of Takeshi Kitano, better known as ‘Beat Takeshi’, from the infamous Takeshi’s Castle. He’s had quite the career as one of the Japan’s best known comedians, commentators, directors and actors.

You’d think with so many fingers in so many pies, from variety television and gameshows, to full blown movies, watching him go from sitting on a panel show, to butchering wave after wave of Yakuza couldn’t possibly work. And yet, not only do his films pull it off time and time again, but some are really quite special.

Hana-bi (‘Fireworks’) is a crime drama that revolves around Police Detective Yoshitaka Nishi, who falls into depression after his wife is diagnosed with a terminal illness, one of his partners is killed and another becomes seriously disabled, ultimately leading him to lose his job. 

To make matters worse, the Yakuza are pestering him to repay a hefty loan pushing Yoshitaka over the edge. The title of the movie sets the scene for his explosive and violent mentality, though thankfully it’s often the Yakuza who experience the brunt of the ‘fireworks’, in scenes that escalate remarkably quickly. 

One of the movie’s strengths is the lack of dialogue, allowing for quiet moments of reflection for the character and a more nuanced performance from Takeshi Kitano. The film is over 2 hours and yet, most of the scenes involve the characters sitting, walking and staring without saying a word. It makes the movie all the more powerful for it, when scenes of ordinary casual life are punctuated with bursts of ultra violence in between.

While the violent show-stopping moments are memorable, it’s the lack of dialogue and slow pacing that gives the film it’s heart, allowing the viewers to dwell on each of the characters predicaments. But it’s the relationship between Yoshitaka and his deteriorating wife that gives the story its soul. Their relationship is at the heart of everything Yoshitaka does - for better or worse - throughout the film.  

‘Fireworks’ feels a bit like watching a two hour poem, and an important reminder that the best movies aren’t about show stopping scenes, but the quiet moments of reflection that come after the storm.

Hana-bi (‘Fireworks’) is available to watch on Amazon and iTunes