Kids Return [Kizzu ritân] **** (1996, Ken Kaneko, Masanobu Andô, Leo Morimoto ) – Classic Movie Review 6526

Japanese writer-director Takeshi Kitano returns to form in his compassionate 1996 boxing tale about two troublesome teenage drifters, boxer Shinji (Masanobu Andô) and Yakuza gangster Masaru (Ken Kaneko), who take up boxing when their intimidation tactics fail to work on one of their targets, who turns out to be a boxer.

But boxing, it turns out in the end, isn’t right for either of them, since one hasn’t the talent and the other hasn’t the determination. Still, it’s not too late to go back to the playground to annoy the teachers like they used to do when in school. So Shinji and Masaru return to their old high school where they were kicked out after establishing a reputation for themselves as the terrorizing bullies of the classroom and playground – and then start their lives all over again.

If rather odd, elusive and sometimes obscure, Kids Return is an affecting and cutting social-comment drama, with shades of Vittorio De Sica’s bleak social realism and compassionate humanism, mixed up with some well-observed comic situations and sudden flare-ups of violence and hints of the gangster world Takeshi visited so memorably in Violent Cop and Sonatine.

Takeshi Kitano is in contemplative mood in this attractive and emotionally powerful Japanese movie. Believably acted, neatly shot and nicely handled, this bright young movie is very cool and hip.

Also in the cast are Leo Morimoto, Hatsuo Yamaya, Michisuke Kashiwaya, Mitsuko Oka, Yüko Daike, Ryo Ishibashi, Susumu Terajima, Ren Osugi, Masami Shimojoe, Moro Morooka, Atsuki Ueda and Koichi Shigehisa.

It is shot by Katsumi Yanagishima, produced by Takio Yoshida, Yasushi Tsuge and Masayuki Mori, scored by Jö Hisaishi and designed by Norihiro Isoda.

Takeshi Kitano followed it with Hana-Bi [Fireworks] (1997).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6526

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