Kids Return

Kids Return (キッズ・リターン, Kizzu Ritān) is a 1996 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Takeshi Kitano. The film was made directly after Kitano recovered from a motorcycle wreck that left one side of his body paralyzed. After extensive surgery and physical therapy he quickly went about making Kids Return amidst speculation that he might never be able to work again. The music was composed by Joe Hisaishi, and the cinematographer was Katsumi Yanagishima.

Plot

The movie is about two high school dropouts, Masaru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando), who try to find a direction and meaning in their lives—one by becoming a yakuza lieutenant, the other by becoming a boxer.

Reception

At the time of its release it was Kitano's most successful film yet in his native Japan, which until then had been notedly much less enthusiastic about his films than international viewers.

Cast and roles

Joe Hisaishi

Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤 守, Fujisawa Mamoru, born December 6, 1950), known professionally as Joe Hisaishi (久石 譲, Hisaishi Jō), is a composer and musical director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. Hisaishi's works has invited comparisons with American composer John Williams.

While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic, European classical, and Japanese classical. Lesser known are the other musical roles he plays; he is also a typesetter, author, arranger, and conductor.

He has been associated with animator Hayao Miyazaki since 1984, having composed scores for all save The Castle of Cagliostro. He is also recognized for the soundtracks he has provided for filmmaker 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano, including A Scene at the Sea (1991), Sonatine (1993), Kids Return (1996), Hana-bi (1997), Kikujiro (1999), and Dolls (2002), as well for the video game series Ni no Kuni. He was a student of legendary anime composer Takeo Watanabe.

Kid

Kid(s) may refer to:

Common meanings

As a nickname

Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano (北野 武, Kitano Takeshi, born 18 January 1947) is a Japanese comedian, television personality, director, actor, author, and screenwriter. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, abroad he is known exclusively for his filmwork. With the exception of his works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the stagename Beat Takeshi (ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi).

Kitano rose to prominence in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat, before going solo and becoming one of the three biggest comedians in the country. After several small acting roles, he made his directorial debut with 1989's Violent Cop and garnered international acclaim for Sonatine (1993). But he was not accepted as a director in Japan until Hana-bi won the Golden Lion in 1997.

He has received critical acclaim for his idiosyncratic cinematic work, winning numerous awards with Japanese film critic Nagaharu Yodogawa having once dubbed him "the true successor" to influential filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Many of Kitano's films are dramas about yakuza gangsters or the police. Described by critics as using an acting style that is highly deadpan or a camera style that approaches near-stasis, Kitano often uses long takes where little appears to be happening, or editing that cuts immediately to the aftermath of an event. Many of his films express a bleak or nihilistic philosophy, but they are also filled with humor and affection for their characters.

Return

Return may refer to:

In business, economics, and finance

In technology

In entertainment

Film