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This article interrogates Kitano "Beat" Takeshi's Hana-Bi (Fireworks, 1997) for its appropriation of traditional Japanese iconography and its insertion into a global marketplace for Asian auteur-gangster films.
For Western critics, Kitano "Beat" Takeshi is the greatest filmmaker to come out of Japan since Alara Kurosawa-to "come out," that is, into the international EuroAmerican art-cinema market. Years before his triumph at the 1997 Venice film festival, European and American critics praised Kitano for his contemplative treatments of violence, youth, and repression. In England, he was compared with Bresson, Melville, Scorsese, and Ozu. The BBC included Sonatine (1993) on its list of the one hundred most representative films of world cinema1 (Fig. 1.). Critics at the Village Voice named Hana-Bi (Fireworks, 1997) one of the top ten films of the decade. Does all this acclaim have anything to do with Kitano's refusal to portray Asian stereotypes? Are Western critics tired of Asian exoticism and rewarding Kitano accordingly? Or is he just telling us what we want to hear? As the director himself put it:
I feel like when anybody calls me an "Asian director" it's loaded with preconceptions. . . . I would really like to get rid of the typical Asian traits, cultures, and aesthetics in our films. I don't mean to put down Kurosawa, but I would rather see contemporary Japanese films succeed over samurai films. I hate seeing people sell a blatantly stereotypical Asian look. I realize that this is what sells right now, but that's what I am trying to get away from.2
Not surprisingly, Kitano's "putdown" of Kurosawa was only a ploy. Japanese television channel NHK carried a story on Kitano's victory at Venice and asked Kurosawa for his impression. It turned out that Kurosawa, like almost everyone, was a Kitano fan. And despite Kitano's mock disparagement, the admiration was mutual. The television show arranged a meeting with Sensei (the master). Kitano, ordinarily shielded behind his shades, was beaming with boyish pride. In fact, he appeared happier than he had at Venice, where he seemed simply bewildered. Back at home, savoring his day with Kurosawa, Kitano clearly relished his moment of triumph with the famous master.
Another Japanese master, Oshima Nagisa, seems to share Kitano's desire to move beyond a "blatantly...