Takeshis'

Aroview: Returning to his comedic roots, dir. Takeshi Kitano springs layer upon layer of self-reference and in this conceptually ambitious, though largely arbitrary parody of his own showbiz celebrity and arthouse filmmaking career.

Relayed in a hallucination of randomly seized upon events, the film's indescribable narrative loosely concerns Kitano, a TV and movie star, who meets a struggling actor named Takeshi (also played by Kitano). By turns violent and surreal, a series of wild non-sequiturs and dreamlike tagents follow, lampooning everything from yazuka pictures to Kitano's own enigmatic off-screen personality. Although the inclusion of Kitano's abrupt, deadpan humour and many of his talented acting regulars provide points of entry for the uninitiated, this is primarily an experimental work of self-actualization recommended only to those well acquainted with the Beat Takeshi oeuvre.