Takeshis' (2005)

The first film in Kitano’s surrealist autobiographical trilogy. Note the placement of the apostrophe in the title: there’s more than one Takeshi, or aspect of the same. The doubles of people who populate the world of successful actor/director Takeshi become part of the increasingly weird dreams of the loser Takeshi, a lowly cashier who wants desperately to be an actor. Each of the principal cast play at least two roles.
It celebrates and mocks his public and private personas, sometimes both in the same scene. It’s packed with references to previous films, so it’d be advisable to explore as many of those as possible before attempting to tackle the fragmented construction of Takeshis’.

3 familiar Beats out of 5

Hana-bi (1997)

aka: Fireworks (in the US)

Hana-bi is a truly wonderful film. Beat plays a cop who says very little, but when he takes action he does it with the full weight of his convictions.
Moments of contemplation and grace are punctuated with moments of extreme violence. It's the human story laid bare with nowhere to hide. It fills me with great sadness and joy every time I watch it, in part due to Joe Hisaishi’s beautiful piano pieces.
For me, Kitano is the greatest Japanese filmmaker since Kurosawa. Hana-bi is a good place to start if you’re new to his style.

5 but it deserves more out of 5