Glory to the Filmmaker!

GLORY TO THE FILMMAKER! (2007) - Sept. 7, 2007
A really bizarre film by Takeshi Kitano -- or more accurately, a series of bizarre short films. About a director (also named Kitano) who looks back at the various films he has made. This whole framing device is really only there to get to the shorts, as it maybe has five minutes of screen-time total. The movie starts out engagingly enough, with several short parodies of various genres, including the gangster films Takeshi is known for, samurai films, horror films, and even the films of Yasujiro Ozu. But then there's a film which I guess is supposed to be a parody of coming-of-age dramas, and it goes on way too long. And then, the final film, which is probably about half the length of the entire thing (but feels WAY longer), is just way too bizarre. It's about, I think, a couple of weird ladies (I think they may be mother and daughter, though it's never made clear) and their various oddball adventures. It's weird beyond description, and it just gets weirder as it goes on. And not weird in a good way, weird in a "I'm getting really sick of this" way. *1/2