Kids Return (1996) User Reviews

The moral--Don't be an idiot!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 29 May 2013]

"Kids Return" is not a particularly enjoyable or must-see viewing experience. However, it might be worth showing to stupid teenagers, as the lesson in this 'Don't be an idiot'---and clearly illustrates the life of two morons as they enter adulthood.

Shinji and Masaru are two teenage juvenile delinquents. They often don't bother going to school and when they do, they goof off, beat up fellow students for their lunch money and commit petty crimes. However, as the film progresses you see some light at the end of the tunnel for the pair when they decide to take up boxing. However, one of them soon tires of it and joins the yakuza (Japanese mob). The other has a future as a great boxer. However, in BOTH cases, a lack of follow-through and stupidity ends up undoing their paths and by the end of the film, they are two unemployed idiots with no future.

Takeshi Kitano wrote and directed this film but did not appear in it. It's interesting in that so many of his other films seem to glorify the mob life--or at least look at it from a rather judgment neutral point of view. Here, however, it seems to be much more of a morality play where Kitano is taking away a lot of the romance and you see that dumb punks grow into dumb young adults! Well done but also not particularly enjoyable viewing.

Kids Return vs. Tokyo Fist

[politic1983 · 8/10 · 25 January 2014]

It's Tokyo, the mid-Nineties and you fancy punching the poo-poo out of someone. That's how total cult directors Tsukamoto Shinya and Kitano Takeshi felt, at least. Coming a year apart - much like your mother's sex life - both made Tokyo-based films centred around boxing: 'Tokyo Fist' (1995) and 'Kids Return' (1996), both bringing their own unique flair to the art form.

To start, the films are very similar: 'Tokyo Fist' starts with salaryman Tsuda bumping into an old school friend, Kojima, a part-time boxer. Likewise, 'Kids Return' begins with former best friends from school, Masaru and Shinji, happily bumping into each other on a Tokyo street, both recognising that their lives have taken a downward spiral since they last saw each other. However, due to the nature of both directors, the similarity largely ends there.

'Tokyo Fist' is very much along the lines of Tsukamoto's most famous work: 'Tetsuo: Ironman'. Focusing on ideas of revenge and aggression, Tsuda soon becomes paranoid that his old classmate might be knocking up his missus, Hizuru. His paranoia gradually drives Hizuru away, as their quiet life becomes loud, aggressive and full of blood-splattering scenes, with her ending up in the arms, and bed, of Kojima, played by Tsukamoto's brother, Koji. The anger and rage building inside him, exemplified by the ever-present loud music, Tsuda joins Koji's boxing gym, determined to beat him in the ring, much like Koji is doing to Hizuru.

The film then becomes a loud, brash experience, with fast camera movements, editing and thrashing music, leaving the viewer out of breath just watching it. And, as ever, a confusion is created as to what exactly is going on, throwing in extreme moments to push things just that little further.

Rage, obsession, and fetish are themes running throughout Tsukamoto's works, and 'Tokyo Fist' is no exception, working as a more polished version of 'Tetsuo: Ironman'. The special effects are still a little budget, but creative in the excessive blood pouring and Hizuru's new fetish for piercing any part of her body possible. Punch, punch, punch is the style for the boxing scenes, with Tsukamoto creating a work to seep into your mind and punch your brain into dazed confusion.

But where Tsukamoto chooses to show graphic violence and gore, this is the very thing that Kitano often avoids. Since starting with 'Violent Cop', the violence is Kitano's films is more in the mind than on screen. The use of still cameras and editing means that actual acts of violence fall out of shot or are skipped for comic timing. The majority of punches thrown in 'Kids Return' are at punching bags or in sparring practise.

'Kids Return' is seen as Kitano's most autobiographical work, set in the part of Tokyo where he grew up and featuring events and job roles that he himself experienced while growing up. The two friends, Masaru and Shinji drift through school, seen as the ultimate prodigal sons by their teachers. Neither has much direction; simply wreaking havoc on the lives of their classmates. Meeting his match, Masaru decides to take up boxing, but soon realises he hasn't the discipline for the sport. His perennial sidekick, Shinji, however, does, and his talent is quickly spotted by the gym's coaches. Masaru then drifts away, becoming a low level yakuza.

For Shinji, boxing is a sense of direction after days drifting, rather than an act of aggression. 'Kids Return' is all about direction when entering adulthood, mirroring roles taken by Kitano himself. Meek Hiroshi tries his hand at selling scales and driving a taxi on finishing school - two jobs Kitano had - but soon finds that neither provide him with what he wants out of life. Two students forming a school double act perform stand-up comedy to their classmates with a manzai act similar to that brought Kitano his initial fame.

If anything, 'Kids Return' is quite a depressing film. On leaving school, hopes and ambitions are quickly lost for all characters, with all left feeling lost and abandoned by their seniors. Hiroshi is repeatedly criticised by the bosses of his various jobs; Masaru is expelled from his yakuza family for speaking out of turn; and Shinji's coaches give up on him once he is led astray by an older boxer who takes him drinking.

The boxing in 'Kids Return' is exactly that: there is more emphasis on the sport, with more realistic bouts and styles. 'Tokyo Fist' goes down the Stallone-form of boxing with non-stop punch fests that would lead to permanent brain damage in seconds, but with blood spurting out of eye sockets, this is the only way Tsukamoto of the Nineties would work.

Both made in the mid-Nineties, set in Tokyo and with boxing as a key element, the films are very different. Tsukamoto favours high-octane fight scenes and special effects to create a visually spectacular gore fest, while Kitano chooses a more mellow-paced drama. At a time when two former boxing film legends return for the undoubtedly terrible 'Grudge Match', 'Tokyo Fist' and 'Kids Return' are both blasts from the past that fall under the same weight class, but see a clash of styles.

Half Yakuza Film, Half Boxing Film

[TheFilmGuy1 · 8/10 · 2 August 2014]

This is another one of Takeshi Kitanos films that he wrote, directed and edited but doesn't star in. It's not quite the soft and moving film like Kikujiro, but it's not the tough and violent film like Violent Cop. It's a different kind of Takeshi Kitano film that lands somewhere else on the spectrum. It's the tale of two kids that go to high school together, an the story of how one becomes a gangster, and the other becomes a boxer. It's an interesting tale and certainly tells a story of youth feeling that pressure to succeed, and perhaps doing questionable things to do so.

It starts off as a high school drama, but then slowly turns into a film that is half yakuza drama and half boxing story. The interesting thing is that there are also a few other characters we see throughout that, if i'm being honest, I don't completely know why they are there. I think it's perhaps to emphasize the idea of youths in Japan being pressured to be successful. We see a duo of comedians and a guy who is in love with a girl at a Cafe, and we see little snippets of what they are doing edited in between the main plot. It's interesting and kinda works.

The relationship between the two friends really works. We see their dynamic and when they drift apart, you believe it. You also grow to like the characters, and kinda root for one, if not both of them. The ending is also pretty great, if I do say so myself.

The film isn't quite a masterpiece like Sonatine, but it certainly is up there with his best works. I guess you could say that it could hold its own in the ring of Kitano films.

A Masterpiece! One of the best Japanese films of the 90's.

[palpatine-1 · 9/10 · 2 February 2002]

Kids return was never given theatrical release in the US, probably because Takeshi doesn't actually act in it, and it doesn't focus on Yakuza. Despite this, it is one of his finest films, and definitely among his most accessible.

Made during his recovery from a motorcycle accident, the film focuses on a group of highschool students as they prepare to enter into the adult world. The two lead characters are Shinji and Masaru, delinquent losers who are looked down upon by their teachers, and feared by their classmates. After they're set up by the administration and thrown out of school, they fall into amateur boxing and embark onto different paths. We follow not only the two hoods, but their classmates as well, at they all enter into various occupations, trying to become adults and live a good life, and for one reason or another, failing.

All this seems fairly conventional until you remember that it was written and directed by Beat Takeshi,who lends it his trademark melancholy sense of style, and injects the script with just enough irony and pathos that it resonates. On a technical level, this is one of Takeshi's finest achievements. I've often felt that in his other works, his simple still frame compositions and slow editing rhythms didn't quite synch with the material, almost as if they resulted more from not knowing what to do with the camera than any kind of personal vision. Here he proves me wrong. Kids Return is directed by a man with a confident and assured hand: the shots, while still easy identifiable as "Kitano-esque" (can we just coin that now), are framed with a poetic eye, fusing themselves to the material to lend it the perfect sense of mood. The editing is smooth, craftsmanlike, aided greatly, as always, by the brilliant music of Jo Hisaishi.

The real difference here, though, is the writing. Kitano forgoes his usual rambling improvisational scene construction for a work that is very structured. The plot is circular, and the kids' lives are given a clear step by step descent into nothingness with an edge of Aristotalean inevitability thrown in. The result is something that is not only more coherent, but somehow also manages to be more naturalistic than his other films. Again, Takeshi's hand is still felt: from the affectionately stupid pranks of the leads to the recurring appearance of a twin comedy group, who banter in the style Kitano's own "The Two Beats." But it's organized, more confident. He knows what he wants to say, and how he wants to say it.

The acting is uniformly great, with Masanobu Ando (a long way from his almost demonic role as Kiriyama in Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale) a definite standout as Shinji. With little to no dialogue, he still manages to convey a sense of likeability and character. Ken Kaneko plays the more garish of the two, but still maintains the air of innocence that the part requires. There are also fun cameos from Takeshi regulars Ryo Ishibashi (who, happily, is spared any nasty encounters with a piano wire), Ren Osugi, and Susumu Terajima. Perhaps the ultimate compliment to the actors, and to the film itself, is that we don't seeing the man himself on-screen. There's no doubt that Takeshi has one of the brightest, larger than life, screen presences in all of cinema. He so dominates the movies he acts in that they would fall apart without him there. Kids Return, however, stands alone with a strength that seems to almost grow with his absence.

Final moments bring our kids back to the school ground where they grow up and the summation given by Masaru transcends the events beforehand in a way that would have made even Ozu proud. Where do you go when you've got nothing to look forward to, and the entire rest of your life still left to live? Kitano's encounter with death has somehow made him even more pessimistic, but at least he came out with something to say.

Another GREAT One From "Beat" Takeshi!!!

[pefo1921 · 9/10 · 28 August 1999]

Along with Fireworks, one of Takeshi Kitano's finest movies. This movie is a story of two high school? slackers who appear to be looking for a purpose in life. One becomes a good boxer and the other one becomes a yakuza member. After going thru their experience, they become more confident and content with their life even though it couldn't be said that they were exactly successful. Like real life, perhaps the experience is the thing. Good acting all around. It's always good to see Susumu Terajima in Takeshi's movies as he's a very good actor. Also very good score by Joe Hisaishi. The movie also appears to criticize the fact that many Japanese people treat everything- life, work, etc. so seriously that they don't take the time to enjoy life. Instead, they "pressure" themselves to do good, even though their heart may not be in it. It's not unlike many recent Japanese films like Shall We Dance or Bouncing KOgals, both also good movies. Overall, a 9 out of 10.

excellent too!!!

[weidong · 30 July 1999]

Takeshi doesn't make me disappoint again. This type is very rare to him, but he did it well. It confirmed his high level of controlling kinds of types. The character act very naturally and the living individuality affect me deeply. Comparable with his former works, it will adjoin you more. The boxing scene is stunning. The friendship of characters is unforgettable. Here I must be honor of Jô Hisaishi(the composer of this music), because it's important parts of Takeshi's work. The music is exciting and moving. Anyway it is a very meaningful movie about youth. This work attract me to look for others of Takeshi. Because I know it's my favorite directors in Japan besides Kurosawa.

Boys will be boys

[howard.schumann · 7/10 · 17 May 2015]

In Takeshi Kitano's 1996 semi-autobiographical film Kids Return, his first since a motorcycle accident (suicide attempt) in 1995 left him close to death, the Japanese education system comes in for a thrashing. Masaru (Kenichi Kaneko) and his buddy, Shinji (Masanobu Ando) know how to have a good time. Not to be bothered with such fruitless endeavors like going to school and learning something useful, they would rather clown around, harass teachers, bully younger students and shake them down for money, sneak into porn theatres, perform stand-up comedy (manzai) routines, or set fire to a teacher's brand new car - just good, clean fun.

As they say in the vernacular "what goes around comes around" and the coming around this time is in the form of a friend of one of the bullied students who unfortunately for the boys is a skilled street fighter. Their encounter turns their attention to a boxing gym where they give up on school and train for revenge against the oppressor. Unfortunately, Shinji is the only one who shows any talent for boxing and he begins to climb in the estimation of "The President." Masura, on the other hand, gives up and joins a menacing yazuka gang. Shinji passively follows an older, cynical boxer who teaches him some illegal tricks to succeed in the ring as well as some strange ways to lose weight.

Things work well for a time until both of the lads crash and burn and realize how much better it is just to hang out and be happy than actually do something constructive. Meanwhile, a gentle boy named Reiko (Atsuki Ueda), marries his perennial sweetheart Sachiko (Yuko Daike) but decides to pass on college. He gets a job in a corporation which doesn't work out and he is soon eking out a living as a taxi driver, a depressing sequence which seems to be in the film for no reason other than to show us how the education system failed again.

Kids Return is a very well done film with some excellent boxing scenes and a few good laughs, but there does not seem to be any lessons learned here. While we have to cut Shinji and Masura some slack because, after all, they are just kids and they may be a tongue-in-cheek stand-in for Kitano's own adolescence, what Kids Return is trying to say with all of this is a head-scratcher – maybe it's just that boys will be boys.

The beautiful struggle that is life...

[freakythemoviefreak · 10/10 · 19 June 2005]

Shinji looks up to his friend Masaru, who doesn't seem to worry about the future nor his education... instead he spends his time pulling pranks on fellow students and teachers.

They don't bother looking for a purpose in life unlike many of the other characters, who all seem to have personal agendas or desperately seeking meaning.

Obviously they are failures in the eyes of overachieving Japanese society.

After a series of events they eventually find their goal in life. Shinji becomes a talented boxer and Masaru is making a fast career within the local yakuza.

This is a very personal and honest 'Kitano', an underdog story filled with moments of humor, melancholy, cynicism and realism. In life there are no real winners or losers, choices are made and often we fail.

In the end there is a moment of genuine Kitano magic, (like in most of his movies) where in one line one of them says it all.

Superb ! 9.5/10

Different paths

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 21 April 2020]

Where do you return to, if you decided to take a path that may not lead you back to anywhere in particular? This is the story of two different paths taken, though as you can imagine they intermingle and even when not there is a way Kitano tells this, that we stay engaged with both stories.

Having said that, maybe it was because I missed Kitano as an actor in this, maybe because it never really gripped me as much as other things he did, I never felt this coming close to other things he did. That doesn't mean this is bad, not in the slightest. It is quite good and in comparison to other stuff, some may even say excellent. Depending on how or where you set the bar of course. Good acting too

fluent and elegant storytelling ...

[kmevy · 10/10 · 17 June 2006]

So many things in this film are so well done. There is the nicely written and told story, the very suitable cast, the perfectly composed music and, of course, the excellent direction.

It was, from my point of view, a very good idea to have a variety of protagonists who are all, in some way, related to each other: all of them are just about to leave school and look for an adequate and fulfilling life. Some of them succeed, and some fail. Now the feat was to link all these single story lines together and make one film out of it. And Kitano really succeeded in this sector. And again this film has a lot of autobiographical elements in it. Kitano's own past as a delinquent or comedian for example.

The music was again a real pleasure. Joe Hisashi really knows his craft to compose very fitting melodies, which always remind me of old Japanese folk songs, and use them perfectly timed in Kitano's films.

If you've seen other Kitano movies and missed this one, you will definitely like it. For those who want to try out a Kitano film for the first time: watch it! It will be a very contemplative and rewarding experience.

The Kids Are Not Alright

[socialmedia-437-956449 · 7/10 · 31 July 2012]

The film "Kids Return" follows two delinquent teenage high school dropouts, who enjoy harassing schoolmates and teachers. Their nonchalant lifestyle leads them to two different paths, seemingly successful.

Masaru (Ken Kaneko) and the gentler associate Shinji (Masanobu Ando) are accompanied by a recurrent musical score every time they're engaged in an activity, hinting that life can be beautiful and hopeful with possibilities. They're absorbed in their fantastical world enjoying a series of adventures— fun for them, however damaging to their peers. They're typical bullies who burn their professor's car for the slightest reason and horrify their classmates in order to take their money, which they spend in their usual hangout. These repulsing actions predict a dark future as per the school staff but yet are somehow envied by other teenagers.

Some of their victims decide to revenge and hire a boxer to teach the pair a lesson; Masaru ironically gets knocked down aggressively. As failure is not an option, he decides to train and get even while dragging his shy friend along the way.

In the gym the trainers notice Shinji's natural talent in boxing, contrary to what everybody expected due to his more stoic nature. But after a failure in an impulsive challenge, Masaru decides to quit for a more dangerous endeavor encouraging his friend to stay and pursue a chance that will change his life.

While Shinji focuses on his training to become a ring champ, his best friend joins a local Yakuza gang (Japanese gangsters) in the hope he'll become a leader one day; their paths diverge to an uncertain course.

The kids are not totally responsible of their choices, but rather drawn into a series of decisions that are led by pure coincidence. Meeting the Yakuza boss in a restaurant left them with a shallow interpretation of the 'cool' rich man, strong and respected by his surroundings. Truth is, once Masaru gets involved with them, there's no turning back.

While Shinji has been devoting all his time in the gym with the admiration of his boxing mates, jealousy of the older generation threatens his success. One of the old champs convinces him to enjoy life outside the training ring with an unhealthy lifestyle, and Shinji's natural inclination to follow changes the course of a promising career.

Kitano shows a deep understanding of a troubled youth, introducing humorous angles in their portrayal. At the same time, he raises realistic questions on the consequences of roaming without a purpose, without guidance. Being nihilistic in his approach doesn't deny his affection to these young men with great potential for success while bridging to the inevitable adulthood – leaving the audience thoughtful.

Find all of our film and festival coverage, as well as our events and education at www.DohaFilmInstitute.com. Follow us on Twitter @DohaFilm.

Another Great Takeshi Kitano movie!

[pefo1921 · 9/10 · 8 September 1999]

Along with Fireworks, This is one of Takeshi Kitano's finest movies. The movie covers the story of 2 "juvenile delinquents" who go thru life trying to find some kind of purpose. One becomes a boxer while the other becomes a yakuza. The film seems to be saying that not enough Japanese people are not taking time to enjoy their life; that people should not be so dead serious all the time.The film also features a very good supporting performance from Susumu Terajima as a "#2 gangster". It's always good to see him in Kitano's films. For the two protagonists, it shows that it doesn't matter what they with their life as long as they enjoy it.

A Nutshell Review: Kids Return

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 24 October 2006]

Today is the Director-In-Focus day, with 3 movies by writer-director-producer-comedian- etc Kitano Takeshi. And the three movies are all quite different in nature, with this one being one of Kitano's directorial efforts without being in front of the camera, Hana-bi being the violent movies he's come to be famous for, and Kikujiro at the other end, being non-violent but full of heartwarming fun.

Kids Return is a semi-autobiographical movie, and you can see shades of Kitano, reel or real, in some of the characters. Primarily, it focuses on the lives of two slacker best of friends, Masaru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando), who play truant frequently, and are ever threatened with expulsion from school. They have no aim in life, and are drifting and wasting their time and youth away, acting up as the ruffians and bullies in school.

Two events change their lives though. One is a run in with a boxer, who inspires them to pick up boxing so that they could get a rematch of sorts. The other is the Yakuza, represented by a group who frequents the same diner they go to. From then on, the movie picks up, as we follow the very different paths these two buddies take. I kinda like the way the movie presented this aspect of life - that even amongst the best of buddies, there will come a point in time where your ideals and aspirations take you down different paths. But although your lifestyle might have changed, at the end of the day, when you get together, you're still the best of friends. This is very true, that you never really left each other, and the door is forever open for you to catch up from where you left off. Different paths, different lives, parallel outcomes.

The movie's very easy to follow with its straight forward narrative, as we follow the timid Shinji in his path towards glory in the boxing ring, and observe from the side the decisions that the brash Masaru make which allows him to rise amongst the gangster ranks. More screen time is devoted to Shinji's though, as at certain points, it looked as if it was the Japanese version of Rocky Balboa. Punctuating the movie isn't The Eye of the Tiger, but Kids Return has a catchy enough soundtrack courtesy of Joe Hisaishi, who frequently scores Takeshi's movies.

The movie however, doesn't just bore you with these two friends, as there are enough side characters from the same school, like the disillusioned teachers, and fellow students turned comedians, and one, a sales failure turned taxi driver, to add some layers to the story. But ultimately, it's life as it goes full circle, and it makes you wonder whether good guidance is always that important factor to break the negative lifestyle anyone is living in.

Oh, and did I mention this movie had one of the more memorable movie props - a puppet with a makeshift dick made out of a flashlight and two bulbs taped together. You gotta see it to believe!

it's life affairs again, but its not about how to die

[nizsu · 10/10 · 1 April 2008]

uhm what I am suppose to say. After the accident in 1994, there are people think that Kitano Takeshi could never direct or become an actor again. But he has come back from the death and tell us what life is all about. If you read his biography, watch his films in time order, you feel like you are watching his lifetime. You would see how Kitano portrays life and death from his own experience in real life.

Take his accident in 1994 as a mark. Before his accident, Sonatine and Violent Cop are bleak and sad. They showed life affairs that can not be escaped. The whole world wants to swallow our heroes, but they are too tough to be gobbled. But in the end, the heroes choose death to end this permanent fight against the brutal world.

After the accident, in Kids Return, it's not how to die to escape, its about how to live to face this brutal world. Remember the time when he made Kids Return, the Japanese still haven't recognized his talent and he had to endure many critics that had lead to his self destruction. But after he left the hospital, he appeared in Gonin The Five as an actor, directed Kid Return.( Kitano could drop directing and become a comedian again becuz Japanese like him as a comedian, that way is easier, but he didn't do as they wished) Kitano Takeshi has never lose his belief in himself. In Kids Return, I feel like Kitano wanted to begin his life again, left behind all the critics and desire to be recognized by Japanese. No matter how things get bad, life just begin when you feel that you are ready. It's never late to begin your life, yes never.

One more thing I want to say, after this film, Kitano made Hana-bi which received the Golden Lion at Cannes. Japanese started to recognize him as a director. At that time, he's 50.

Kitano's message about choosing your friends wisely

[jimniexperience · 9/10 · 19 January 2018]

Underlying message of the movie is to not let bad seeds, doubters, downers, and peer pressure hamper your progress to become great -- they are tests to see if you have what it takes to push forward

Kitano's comeback film after his suicide attempt

Follows two friends from high school who bullied kids . One fateful day they get jumped by a boxer and decide to adjust their lifestyles with the heart (some passionate some timid) of champions

Better Than "Battle Royale"

[sebaveron2001 · 19 March 2004]

Spoilers!

Takashi "Beat" Kitano had already made "Violent Cop", this was his masterpiece, Kitzu Ritan (Kids Return), is a story about two boys who smoke, drink and skive school, then one gets hit by a local bully and starts boxing, the other one is rubbish at it, but one is less angry (than his friend, who is, angry about the punching incident, cue throwing the bully out of the ring). Kitano makes his most detailed observation, whilst appearing at his most casual, this is not, as you may think it is, like "Rocky II", or "Max Keeble's Big Move", this is a melancholy, story of two kids, one joining the Yazuka, and one becoming a boxer, eventually getting screwed up by taking "Champion Pills", maybe the down and out meant to do him in with them, anyway, like I said, better than "Battle Royale" (only just though).

Superb, ****/****

4.11.2024

[EasonVonn · 7/10 · 11 April 2024]

From those pantheon of Japanese cinema, we do sense some certain threads of what they like called "the elements belongs to their own country". To be more clear, we do need to pull out those Kenji Mizoguchi's UGETSU and Kurosawa's DRUNKEN ANGEL, and we concluded that those didactic moral inclusive plots are somehow, inherited in those Japanese cinema culture.

And this time, Takeshi Kitano, most commonly known as famous for being a virtuoso in gangster, mobsters movie, chose to not to begin with a story in a particular rambunctious way, to be compared, it's kind of kiddish but intriguing.

We can hardly tell those what we expected the provoking cinematic sleights in his oeuvre, and also this is not what he really passionate bout. I think Takeshi Kitano is someone that really wanted to tell some stories instead of doing a play of cinematography, from inside and outside, the most poetic sequences are not such obscure than any of those cinema masters (riding a bike in a freely sky).

But we do see some beguiling way about Takeshi Kitano handled about those sequences of kids in the school and outside school, and I think this could be the most heartfelt part of the whole movie. From Jean Renoir's perspective, he believes that the windows in the movies can be a fundamental motif of the cinema (though it's quite Hermeneutics), that the characters can see across the windows but they can't really get in touch with the freedom, or whatever outside the windows, the struggle between the freedom and the limits (Jean-Luc Godard adapted those ideas in his 1962 masterpiece VIVRE SA VIE). What Takeshi Kitano did was that created a perfect isolation between the students in the classroom and the two outsiders through a glass, and later we see how they jocularly played with these limits by using a fake doll of the teacher to bounce upon the solemn system (a slapstick), the students laughed but they can only laughed on the seats without movements, and that is what I call the perfect isolation between the freedom and limits that applied in those peculiar topic of children's decadences. We also see similar threads in his striking composition (wilds kids standing and those teachers sitting) and direct cuts between the teachers and students, he definitely knows what he believes and we he perceives.

But then they entered the fight club. So from now we can pull out YOLO (2024), 100 YEN LOVE (2014) and KIDS RETURN (1996) into the same arena, and then we will see ROCKY (1976) pop out and said you guys are all wilted. Or DAS BOXENDE KANGURH (1895) by Max Skladanowsky said the same things. The comparison between the years by years simply is nonsense, but I still wanted to point out, the serious problems of YOLO is not plagiarism (though it is somehow, but we all plagiarize, classics will be refreshed in modern eyes), it's about the intention of Leying in doing boxing, in comparison, KIDS RETURN did this part nearly perfect, but we have nothing to complain, how could expect a standup comedian who never learned any sleights of cinema (it's not really important at all, director needs to read to learn everything about arts) to make a good movie?

Back to the film, KIDS RETURN then entered a stage like the kids in GERMANY YEAR ZERO by Rossellini did when he tried to poison his father and suicide. How could a film with kids not be moralizing and intriguing? I think we are here through a peephole (as Takeshi Kitano doesn't have what they called a "cache" frame) to peep those kids get into the society and facing across the systems outside the system, the power outside the power, and the hierarchy outside the hierarchy, then they probably grow up, or gave up, that's the didactic part.

The taxi driver is quite the best part of the film, it elucidated you can not escape no matter where, the world is tough.

Susumu Terajima's performance is perfect, I can still recall him in the RAN. The boxing part in the latter part is getting redundant and sterile, a little too didactic, but impressive at the end.

Another great Takeshi

[D Throat · 10/10 · 16 February 1999]

With this film Takeshi takes a look back at the past in the lives of several men who are in the same school. The two protagonists each choose their own direction: one becomes a boxer, the other joins the yakuza. The story is a reflection on how the choices a man makes can affect their lives and their relationships. As always the drama is interwoven with occasional scenes of violence, and the comedy is dark but never too depressing. Everything about Kids Return is good, and therefore another great piece of Japanse film-making.

low key

[christopher-underwood · 7/10 · 24 November 2018]

Writer, actor, director, comedian Takeshi Kitano is probably the most famous man on Japanese TV but burst upon the cinema world at the beginning of the 90s when he utilised all those skills to create the violent yakuza trilogy comprising, Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Sonatine. His bravura direction brought something new to the screen and his laconic acting with off beat humour brought him great success. In 1997 he brought us the quieter and more reflective Hanna-Bi and the year before that, this film, made whist he recovered from a motor scooter accident. More low key than any of the aforementioned films this a fairly leisurely affair, lacking much of his trademark cutting and editing. The two school chums the film revolves around have met up in later years and we see their reminisces of their attempts at developing from school wastrels to possibly something more worthwhile. The boxing scenes, which are far more extensive than I had imagined are superbly brought to the screen and are probably the films finest element. The more influential of the pair moves into the world of yakuza and unless there is something lost in translation, it would seem these are presented almost as pantomime by a disillusioned Kitano whose very first screen acting job in 1969 wasps a gang member in the revolutionary director, Kaji Wakamatsu's. highly controversial Go, Go Second Time Virgin.

Not lost in translation

[Antony-18 · 10/10 · 26 January 2004]

Too good for a simple man like me to ever express.

It has been three years since I saw this movie. Three years since the final credits rolled, and to this day I cannot forget this movie.

It is my life's work to track it down again, just to relive it. A movie so special, that to be able to watch it again, can be compared to your first love. To be able relive that first night together.

There will be good films, there will be excellent films. But there will only ever be one Kid's return. The story, I would only spoil with my words. You simply must see it for yourself. You'll never forgot it, nor regret it.

As good as anything Kitano has done

[MOscarbradley · 8/10 · 12 April 2017]

Life's hard for a couple of juvenile delinquents in Japan. Takeshi Kitano's marvelous 1996 film "Kids Return" skirts around the fringes of his better known gangster pictures to look at the seeds that, once planted, might turn a boy into a gangster or, as happens here with one of our anti-heroes, a boxer. This is a very likable, small-scale film full of all the affection of friendship where even violence seems like a necessary evil in the process of growing up. Drawing superb performances from his young cast Kitano, who wrote, directed and edited the picture, keeps things light and easy with just the right degrees of sadness and humour. This may not be one of his better known films but it's just as good as anything he's done.

Kitano as far as Oshima

[Ricky-70 · 9/10 · 29 March 1999]

T. Kitano made his best film in 1990, it was "violent Cop". It is wild and strong picture, in a sense like this movie: "Kids Return". It takes place in a school. There are several students bored of their life. Two of them decided to become unsuccessful comic actors, the rest of the group enter in the Yakuza, except one who become a strong boxer. Is like in the Oshima's film about youth, every thing had a bad end, often that end is without a moral, maybe this is the real power of Kitano's movies. The only guide is the man in him self, alone. Every man is self care, the life is the thing it is. Kitano refuse the fantastic view, like in the new Japanese cinema (for example "Kitchen" by Morita), and decide to take an overlook of the facts that show us. That is the reason why I give 9 stars to this movie.

Great music. Great story.

[zhixiong · 8/10 · 3 May 2005]

Joe Hisaishi has proved himself again to be the greatest male Japanese anime song composer alive. The female goddess is, of course Yoko Kanno. Both geniuses have composed many many original scores for many famous animation TV series and movies.

The music in Kids Return is perfect. If I am judging musical aspect of the film, it will be a 9/10.

One thing puzzled me was.. didn't Shinj died in the end? We saw the wreaked white car being towed away. So how did he survive from the jealous power hungry 'No. 2'? The film didn't explain properly his close shave with death.

Mao points: 8/10

Story, acting, moral, style....very nice

[Sleepy T · 9 June 1999]

This is one of my top 5 movies of all time. The story and morals behind it is very nice and meaningful. It can somehow make the viewer relate to the characters in the film (well, for me anyway) and in a way, the film is sad, yet at times, humorous. This is the only film that I've seen made by Beat and it's sure a good film. The acting was very natural and well performed and the style, very nice. But there's just one tiny problem. Since the film is in Japanese and if you are not Japanese, then you must endure the subtitles, but hey, if you can read fast enough, than it doesn't matter. "Kids Return", a must see for all you people out there.