Achilles and the Tortoise (2008)

The final film in Kitano’s surrealist autobiographical trilogy is my favourite of the three. It's less surreal than the other two, but does get more and more abstract as time goes on. It's split into three distinct phases of struggling artist Machisu's life. Each time period has its own deft focus, but all have identifiable hallmarks of a Kitano experience, with the third being perhaps the weirdest.
Like Achilles in Zeno's Paradox it seems like Machisu is always playing catch up. But the more advice he takes from experts the worse his work becomes. He just can't win, and his output grows less representative of his true self.
The fictional characters are merciless commentary on both the superficiality of the art world and Kitano's own works (he did all the original paintings).
There's tragedy, but it's wickedly funny, underpinned by a peculiar warmth.

4 accomplished Beats out of 5

Zatoichi (2003)

aka The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (in the US)

Stepping into Shintarô Katsu’s well-worn sandals is a very tall order. I can think of no one more deserving of the honour than Takeshi Kitano.
Katsu’s Ichi shone even when acting nonchalant. Kitano chooses not to. He fades into the background often. Consequently, the secondary characters come across as being better written, making Ichi seem like less of a focal point and more of a supporting player in his own story. I'm sure it was intentional, but, even though the swordsman’s persona has been well-established previously, I feel the two halves ought to have been at least on equal footing, because for many folks it'll be their first ever Zatoichi film.
I’ve vented hatred for CGI blood in previous posts; pairing it with CGI blades elicits and qualifies for an even greater level of disgust.

3 dancing farmers out of 5