Pearls from the East

One of the sweetest, most romantic, saddest movies about love I've ever seen. And all without even a single kiss. Kitano is once again amazing.

A film about changing China, about the drama of everyday life, about love and desperation. An astonishing film by one of contemporary China's most promising directors.

Colourful, sad, playful, tender...this film is what Gondry could never really accomplish: a dreamlike film, full of strange characters and weird situations.

Set in a psychiatric hospital, the film is the story of a girl convinced to be a cyborg and a kleptomaniac boy who steals passions, habits and days of the week.
Not only this film is visually beautiful, it is also a story of love and affection much more powerful than many others. And considering the background of the director (the Vengeance Trilogy), I was amazed by the delicateness and skillfulness of the direction.
This has become instantly one of my favourites.

Sweet, desperate but delicate, this film is one of my all time favourites. It is very slow, that's true, but that pace makes it even more enjoyable for me.

Kitano dimostra ancora una volta la sua grandezza in un film che riprende tutte le tematiche tipiche di un filone narrativo (il samurai solitario e abilissimo con la spada) tipiche della tradizione giapponese, ma le rivisita in maniera giocosa e del tutto particolare.
I film di samurai non sono il mio forte, ma questo è molto piò che semplicemente ciò, quindi merita una menzione speciale. E' una decostruzione della leggenda, un prendersi gioco e omaggiare allo stesso tempo in modo bambinesco la tradizione samurai, e il lavoro del regista in sè.
Il finale in particolare m'ha lasciata a bocca aperta: ancora una volta Kitano si è confermato uno dei registi contemporanei che ammiro di più.

Funny and entertaining in a very clever way, with many references to traditional Chinese culture and some classic story plots. I simply love this film, plus Tony Leung is brilliant, as usual.

A simple but beautiful character, a sweet and sour story, a great direstor. This film has everything to become one of my favorites.