Kitano/Kijujiro/Buffoon--Addition re Furansu-za

[Mark Nornes]

On Aug 11, 2006, at 8:58 PM, Aaron Gerow wrote:

> A lot has been said about Kitano's life. Kitano has certainly made  
> his life a central intertext in a lot of his work, from his  
> writings, his TV work to his films. Quite a number of his films  
> have autobiographical references that can be important in  
> considering the text.

I didn't follow the first part of this, so perhaps this is redundant.  
But TV Asahi has adapted the Kikujiro to Saki book in 2003. Earlier  
this year, TV Japan showed it (they're finally supplementing the  
dreary NHK programming) and I caught a few episodes. Everything is  
played over-the-top, and the shitamachi atmosphere is clearly meant  
to evoke Otoko wa tsurai yo.  But Kikujiro is no Tora-san. He swings  
between endearing madcap comedy and unforgivable brutality. Mom is  
about the same. As far as I can see, there is no participation on  
KItano's part. However, if there is autobiography built into this,  
one is left with the impression of a nostalgia for youth inflected  
with the memory of rampant family violence. I found this interesting  
for the way it played off my own memory of Kitano's cinema. It's  
worth checking out, and if you have TV Japan you can. They are in the  
midst of a rerun---Sunday mornings, I believe.

Markus

PS:  Here are two home pages:

http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kikusaki/

http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kiku/index.html
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