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82
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79
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78
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73
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71
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71
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70
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65
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64
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64
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63
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61
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60
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57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Longshots, The
53
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51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
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42
Death Race
36
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36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
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35
Mirrors
34
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33
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31
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27
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24
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21
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40
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Young@Heart
89
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87
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86
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86
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86
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85
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83
U2 3D
83
Frozen River
83
Tell No One
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Trouble the Water
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
76
I Served the King of England
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
Mongol
73
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
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71
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71
Roman de gare
70
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68
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67
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66
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66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
64
Brideshead Revisited
64
XXY
64
Fall, The
63
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63
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62
Kabluey
62
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62
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61
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61
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61
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61
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61
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57
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57
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57
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56
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56
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55
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54
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54
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54
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53
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52
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51
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50
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49
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47
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46
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46
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44
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40
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25
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xx
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xx
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xx
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xx
Cthulhu
xx
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Kikujiro
Sony Pictures Classics
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for threatening incident
Starring
Great Gidayu,
Fumie Hosokawa,
and
Rakkyo Ide
It's summer and nine-year old Masao (Sekiguchi) has no one to play with. He decides to go in search of the mother he has never met. Kikujiro (Takeshi), a brash, loudmouthed and irresponsible adult, agrees to accompany him on his quest. Ultimately, the two of them end up at a destination that neither of them could have imagined. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): |
Comedy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Takeshi Kitano
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Takeshi Kitano
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: December 12, 2000
Video: December 12, 2000
Theatrical: May 26, 2000
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
121 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Japan |
| LANGUAGE(S): |
Japanese (with English subtitles) |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
90
Los Angeles Times
Kevin Thomas
A heart-tugger made totally irresistible because of the combination of Kitano's wry, sly sense of humor and his rigorous detachment.

83
Portland Oregonian
Kim Morgan
It is off-putting at first, then refreshing, then downright touching. In short, it works.

80
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
An experimental feature that keeps shooting off its ideas like an endless row of skyrockets, Kikujiro ultimately conveys this grief with such sustained intensity that it can only leave a scorched path of devastation in its aftermath.

75
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
This genial, lyrical little movie seems guaranteed to broaden Kitano's fan base in the United States.

70
Dallas Observer
Andy Klein
In short, the film is emotional, perhaps even sentimental, but it strenuously avoids the sort of blatant manipulation that marks cheap sentimentality.

67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
Much of this movie is very funny, it has some genuinely endearing moments.

63
Philadelphia Inquirer
Desmond Ryan
No one has done the journey quite like Takeshi Kitano in Kikujiro

63
Baltimore Sun
Ann Hornaday
Provides an arresting journey through the Japanese countryside and culture.

63
San Francisco Chronicle
Bob Graham
The comic drama is refreshingly anti- sentimental but will break your heart anyway.

63
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
If the movie finally doesn't work as well as it should, it may be because the material isn't a good fit for Kitano's hard-edged underlying style.

63
New York Daily News
Elizabeth Weitzman
When Kikijuro goes soft, the film falls apart, with him becoming a slapstick clown, mugging shamelessly to entertain Masao and the audience.

55
Mr. Showbiz
Michael Atkinson
The film has a standard trajectory, but the details are unpredictable: Kitano fluctuates between goofy pratfalls. . . and elliptical pathos.

50
San Francisco Examiner
G.Allen Johnson
With a few quiet, moving scenes and a lovely ending, the film betrays an artist's touch, no matter how hard Kitano tries to make it look easy.

50
USA Today
Mike Clark
It's tough to think of another child-adult pairing in a long screen tradition with so little emotional kick.

50
New York Post
Lou Lumenick
Beautiful camerawork, some interesting scenes, but extraordinarily slow.

50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Kitano's first major comedy is loose and likable.

40
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
Not only is Kikujiro sweet and funny, it is, no doubt, Kitano's experimental "art film."

40
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Appears to be a complete about-face for Kitano, and yet it's unmistakably his, both stylistically (the film is gorgeous to look at) and thematically.

40
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
Ends up a flabby vehicle for the most banal of road-movie messages: The journey's the thing; the goal inevitably disappoints.

40
The New York Times
Dana Stevens
Dreamy touches can't compensate for the film's main flaw, which is that the relationship between the two main characters never really develops.

38
Boston Globe
Jay Carr
Even allowing for differences in national styles, Kikujiro sprawls and stumbles. It's a road movie that turns into its own detour.

30
Village Voice
J. Hoberman
An overtly saccharine fairy tale of abandonment that is subverted by its own comic brutality. It's oddly affecting...which is to say, sad in a way that its maker might not have intended.

20
Film.com
Robert Horton
It does... apply Kitano's black-comic style to a different setting, and individual scenes sparkle with unexpected jokes, twists, and occasional cruelties.

10
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
The episodes are too convoluted to get into.

0
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
The film isn't just bad; it's a barely coherent, inert mess -- a heart-tugger for voidoids.


The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 9 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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