Asakusa Kid

Well this was emotional. A deep look into the comedic roots of the now mega-famous global superstar Takeshi Kitano.

I've been a TK fan for a long time so I'm probably going to be a bit biased. This is how to do a biopic though.

It's focusing on his early stage life and how he developed into a famous comedic duo known as 'Two Beat'.

There could easily be another biopic about this legend considering his later-life, developing Takashi's Castle and becoming an internationally-acclaimed director.

The charm of this movie really does it for me. It's a rags-to-riches' tale and actually a lesson for streaming service CEO's, given how much quality content is dropped after one season now. It takes time to grow and develop your craft.

Watch this to learn about one of Japan's best comedians and directors.

Domo arigato Mr Kitano.

I am not going to stick with my own advice , I have written a lot of thoughts down after watching the movie that i am sharing below.

So instead of reading this you could just go and watch the movie. It is totally worth your time.

So in the beginning there are some quick flashbacks that sort of disrupts the pacing but make sense when you consider it in the bigger picture 'pun intended.

Because of the slow pacing and me thinking this was going to cover the entirity of Takeshi beat Kitano's vast career i thought I was watching a binge worthy documentary series at times .

That is because the basis for the script of this movie was written in 1998 and his film career had yet to take of. Despite allready been in a big blockuster Merry christmas, Mr Lawrence.

So seeing the older Beat Kitano seems somewhat of as ist ort of appears that he is looking back at his life. That is what such documentaries based on memoirs do.

So let us wind back. The title is a death giveaway and Mr Kitano has lived several lifes and this movie is about himself as an Asakusa Kid

So no childhood except his life in Asakusa up until he moved to a new chapter in his life. (the new chapter is not being referenced to in anyway) so it is all asakusa kid.

The story of Senzaburou Fukami is a heartbraking one and just like the story of TBK it reaches it climax when he visits the funeral through the backdoor.

Since the movie was directed by Gekidan hitori , and takeshi has credits for the script as well I am pretty much sure that where the differences with the memoir are , are there because Well Takeshi had 30 more years to reflect. If there are any at all.

Takeshi Beat Kitano like his master and all the persons who made a part of his success were all incredible humble and giving people.

In the end it is a documentary of hope and what it means to be human and what love is.

It is also a documentary of staying true to yourself and allways willing to learn.

It is hard because his mentor success was declining while Takeshi's star was rising. But the scene after his big national recognition is Takeshis recognition for the master and the master can acknowledge his never waning love for his partner one final time.

Anyway I should follow my title and sum it up here.

What you see is all relevant to Kitano. And not surprising while it is about him rising to fame that rising to stardom gets the background as he was in the when he was an elevator boy. It is a story about the wonderful people of the Asakusa France Za theatre (stripclub) which undoubtedly changed his life and this movie is a thank you to those.

And thats the highest compliment one can give in this specific case.

"You dont cater to the audience. You tell them what is funny."

"I'm someone who left their past twice, I dont have any more time for not giving it all."

"Do you know Lenny Bruce?"

"People come here to see us, not you - or someones singing."

"You have tamer material, right? And you have still plenty of time, so change your set."

"If you cant joke about yourself in private, you wont be able to on stage."

An odd family --

and the rest is tragedy.

And ascendance above it all. But - you know, the Kitano way.

With a twitch,

and a whimper,

shouting "I'm a comidian, you idiot" into some agitated persons face.

I only gave 8/10 because of the one shot in the end, attempting to show the audience what the heart of the story is all about. It wasn't needed, as another reviewer already stated in here before. Less is more. But the film had me in tears even before that (nostalgia inducing) scene - so, all is good -- it captured the essence, and thats really everything that was needed, and the highest compliment one can give in this specific case.

The voice actors in English are abysmal. Make sure you watch "Asakusa Kid" with the original Japanese dialogue, with subtitles in your language if you don't know Japanese. It would have to be better than the dubbed version I was forced to endure. Beat Takeshi was one of the top three comedic entertainers in Japan during the last decade of the 20th century, and though he went on to act, write, produce, and direct, this film, an overlong biopic, is focused on his early days, as a shy dreamer and a wannabe entertainer - who wasn't sure just how he wanted to entertain his future audiences. The film is as much about his mentor as it is about Takeshi.

Iread the book, I'm a Takeshi Kitano fan.. and I finally sw the movie.. Now Kurt Kanazawa intepretation of Takeshi Kitano is sooo good... It's o soulful and Kitano-esque, that the movie could have been him just sitting on a bench and I would have loved it.

REAL CHARASMATIC !! Really .. But the movie was good, I'm not gonna go over the plit but if you ike Kitano, This movie is not to miss.