Takeshis'

Takeshis' is a 2005 Japanese film directed, written, edited by, and starring Takeshi Kitano. It is the first film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, being followed by Glory to the Filmmaker!, and Achilles and the Tortoise.

Film structure

The original working title of Takeshis' was Fractal, suggesting the film's structure. The film has nested story-lines and depicts an 8½-like identity crisis theme in autobiographical style. It is also strongly characterised by a series of surrealistic motifs linked by chance encounters.

A prominent theme of the film is duality, as almost all the main characters appear in two forms or roles. Although it is hard to lay one's finger on the interpretation of this film, it can be said that self-actualization is at least a major underlying theme.

Plot

Takeshis' progresses through the nested storyline of the dual protagonists, Beat Takeshi and Mr. Kitano (both played by Kitano himself). Beat Takeshi, a prominent actor, meets a look-alike named Mr. Kitano, who is a struggling actor. After the meeting, Mr. Kitano's dreams take a violent, surreal turn.