Hana-bi

...a wondrously cinematic exercise in the exploitation of space and stillness and it confirms Kitano as both a highly modern film-maker and the heir to such classical directors as Yasujiro Ozu.

...a demonstration of what a story such as this is really about, fundamentally, after you cut out the background noise.

...brings back dreamy teen angst like the strongest of madeleines.

Kitano's wholly original interplay of matter-of-fact savagery, whimsy, surrealism, and pure aesthetic reverie is the freshest thing I've seen in some time.