Zatoichi (UK Cinema: April 2004)

Kitano returns to his bloodthirsty roots after a period of gentle convalescence.

The good news is he doesn't disappoint, the bad is he favours the violence of his former cinematic incarnations over the beauty of the latter. Still, functional as ever, we get what we expect from Kitano: high-comedy, brutal violence, an at times devil-may-care plot and his lovably roguish heroics.

Kitano displays an impressive knowledge of the genre, not only showing us how a samurai film should be done (forget all that swashbuckling nonsense), but tipping the hat to everyone from Akira Kurosawa to Sergio Leone and back again. Did I see a reference to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as well? It's trademark Kitano, flicking two fingers at the movie world by refusing to take himself or his films too seriously and then piling on the drama when it matters most.

Despite its widespread mainstream success, longtime fans may be a disappointed to see him return to the blood and guts after a period of intense onscreen development triggered by his motorcycle accident and resultant wonder of cinema that was Hana-Bi.

RATING:

(c)Limer 2004