Highly Poetic Film .. Arthouse cinema Story follows an ex-cop suffering from severe losses wanting to spend his remaining days with his dying wife - enjoying each other's company before her terminal illness claims her life .Story flashes back to a botched investigation that leads to a shooting leaving one partner dead and the other permanently crippled . His crippled partner decides to spend his remaining days as a painter , and Kitano takes a family vacation with his wife with stolen bank money and travels the mountain-sideVery beautiful movie ,, 9/10

Takeshi Kitano dives once more into the yakuza underworld and emerges with a fierce performance, as he leads one of the decade's best hidden gems.Kitano plays Nishi, a cop whose life has been slowly crumbling apart and is about to take an even darker turn. He's lost his daughter and his wife is fighting an uphill battle with leukemia. She spends her days at the hospital and, to pay for her treatment, Nishi now finds himself in debt with the yakuza. To add insult to injury, he's also feeling guilty, as his partner, Horibe, has been confined to a wheelchair after being injured while Nishi was visiting his wife. It's here that the film parts into two narratives: that of Horibe, who must grapple with his new condition, and of Nishi, who has to repay the yakuza and deal with his wife's inevitable demise.Make no mistake, this isn't an Asian action movie. The film has a very deliberate pace. Kitano often shoots long and almost silent takes, showing us a cold and deadpan Nishi, always hidden behind his shades, even when he's with his wife. In fact, the two barely talk throughout the film, but they're truthful, as if they've been together long enough to tell each other all they had to tell. Sometimes they giggle, or share a more heartwarming moment, but these moments are fleeting. It's in between these long takes that we get another look at Nishi. With flawless editing, Kitano makes violence spark in "Fireworks", but that's all it does. Rarely does he linger in the violence or the gore, the act itself is nothing more than that, an action.Both Horibe and Nishi are men to whom life has been treacherous, and yet it's curious to note the distinct way in which these two men react. Horibe is the more vocal of the two, but still seems better at handling his misfortune than the explosive and criminal Nishi. Truth be told, the only pleasant moments in Nishi's life seem to be the ones he spends with his wife, walking by the shore or sitting by the beach, he's calm. However, if he's confronted by his own immoral actions, mayhem ensues. This is mostly how "Fireworks" plays, like a ticking time-bomb, serene but with the threat of violence always at the surface."The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long" - we know that eventually Nishi will get his comeuppance, but whether he truly deserves it is what's most unsettling about "Fireworks".

This is certainly a Kitano film, through and through. Art, long takes, close ups, silent characters, sudden violence, and wacky humour. It's all here. I have seen many say that Hana-bi is Kitanos best film, but I would probably disagree and say Sonatine is. I feel that the films are quite similar, but Sonatine just does it better. That's not to say that Hana-bi isn't a great movie. Kitano plays a very similar character to his other films. A silent and violent cop who retires from the force due to a certain incident and the fact that his wife is sick. He plays the character well and you certainly feel the pain he is experiencing. What I found slightly strange about the film was the side plot of the partner who was injured and starts to paint to keep himself busy. We keep cutting back to this story, and I couldn't quite place the significance. Looking at it from a very basic point of view, it does nothing to help the plot. Obviously it has a deeper meaning to it, but I can't quite understand it myself. I think I would need to analyse the film more. I almost feel like it may be some kind of personal statement by Kitano. He was involved in a car crash in real life and began to paint after it. Perhaps parts of this film, if not all, is about Kitanos accident and the feelings he had after having a near death experience. That would explain a lot. I feel overall, Sonatine does a better job of doing what Hana-bi tries to do. Sonatine has similar themes, but displays those theme more clearly and concisely, while Hana-bi is much more up to your own interpretation at times. Also, the humour in Sonatine works perfectly, while it feels out of place many times in Hana-bi. That's not to say the humour isn't funny. I actually found it extremely funny (especially a scene involving a camera on a timer), but it just felt quite out of place at times. In the end, Hana-bi feels like a lesser version of Sonatine. Even though Hana-bi came after, I just found myself thinking "Sonatine did it better". I got goosebumps from Sonatine, but not Hana-bi. But I think it might be a matter of opinion, and I think this is a great film that should be seen.

This is fourth movie that I watched from Takeshi Kitano and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with this one.I know that this is probably his most awarding movie but I don't think this is his best.Far from there.I find "Dolls" his greatest achievement.Don't get me wrong "Hana-bi" is very good movie but I expected something better.It's because Kitano put so high standards and sometimes it is hard to achieve them.The plot is about Yoshitaka Nishi who is cop and his wife is dying of Leukemia.His partner gets shot in the job and he ends up in a wheel chair.Nishi is trying to help him because he feels that somehow he's guilty for what happened.Soon Nishi leaves police so he can spend more time with his wife.All his life he did wright things and know he has to do all wrong things so he can survive.He soon sinks deeper and deeper in his problems that are leading to tragedy.I liked the plot but this isn't nothing new.What is new is Kitano's way in filming this one.His camera is excellent and that part is very good but something about this movie as whole didn't fit perfectly to me.I don't know what that is but "Dolls" are better to me.I'm repeating myself so I'll quit know.Just one more thing;fans of Kitano won't be disappointed with this movie and also this movie is a great way to become a fan of this great film-maker.