Category: IIB (Japanese)

Japanese actor/director/all-round multi-media entity Takeshi Kitano is a man of surprises. Just when you thought you had him pegged as first and foremost a director of violent yakuza films such as Sonatine (1993) and Hana-bi (1997), he throws up Dolls (2002), a haunting, sorrowful reflection on lost love and the film he says he always wanted to make.

And when you thought he'd embraced art house, he throws up Zatoichi, a gloriously low-brow take on the blind swordsman hero of Japanese cinema history.

The samurai genre suits Kitano perfectly, giving him ample opportunity to play with his own brand of ultra-violence (using CGI to soak the production in blood), while throwing in a liberal dose of slapstick to give the production a lighter edge than his recent work.

Kitano, who also wrote the screenplay, stars as Zatoichi/Ichi a blind masseur who shuffles around the Japanese countryside, surprising those who stumble on him with flashes of his fast wit - and his even faster swordplay. He comes across a little country town being harassed by a band of thugs and he methodically sets about sorting things out.

You know instantly - from the smirks and little shakes of his head - that there's more to this blind guy than first appears. This is practically the Kitano character from Sonatine et al, transported back in time. And he has taken all his style with him.

There is also a crazy assortment of fringe dwellers and madcap adventures that frequent the director's many worlds: a madman who runs and screams in and out of shot; and workers who plough the fields in perfect rhythm with the soundtrack. The affect is, at times, magical.

Hong Kong's legion of Japanese film followers will rejoice in the return of Tadanobu Asano (Gohatto, Ichi the Killer), as one of Zatoichi's rivals. He remains one of world cinema's more impressive figures.

Kitano keeps the tricks coming, right up until the fantastically flippant finale. Another inspired work from the master.

Zatoichi opens today.