"Kikujero" is a comedy, a road-trip movie. It's focus is a young, sullen boy being raised by his grandmother in contemporary Japan. His father is dead, and his mother is incommunicado, working in a distant city. School lets out for summer recess and immediately his pals depart for vacation, leaving him alone. He hits upon a plan to find his mother. Befriended by the local saloon owner, she offers up her shiftless, thuggish husband to accompany him on his quest. The first thing the man does is take the boy's money and lose both the boy's and his funds at the racetrack. Broke, they are left to their devices to finish the trip. The remainder of the movie is a chronicle of their journey across Japan.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a half-assed film; it's very well made. And most of it is enjoyable. But more than a little of the humor was a little off-putting. For example: while pretending to be blind to cage a ride the thug is struck hit-and-run by a car. This was definitely supposed to be funny, but it was lost on me. Episodes like this are sprinkled throughout the long (over 2 hour) movie. You are forewarned.
Don't get me wrong, this is not a half-assed film; it's very well made. And most of it is enjoyable. But more than a little of the humor was a little off-putting. For example: while pretending to be blind to cage a ride the thug is struck hit-and-run by a car. This was definitely supposed to be funny, but it was lost on me. Episodes like this are sprinkled throughout the long (over 2 hour) movie. You are forewarned.