Hana-bi (aka Fireworks) is a different kind of crime drama. In part, it’s really more of a tragedy from the mind of lead actor-director-writer-editor Takeshi Kitano. We follow the story of ex-cop Yoshitaka Nishi (Kitano) as his life crumbles around him.

After a stakeout goes wrong, police officer Nishi’s partner is killed on the job, and two other cops are severely injured. His very young daughter was recently murdered, and his wife has terminal leukemia. After being forced into retirement, Nishi borrows money from the yakuza in order to spend time with his dying wife. He decides to pay it back and have some money leftover by robbing a bank, but the yakuza aren’t happy to let him go.

Hana-bi is full of the types of moments you might expect in a typical action movie. Bloody takedowns, shootouts, robberies, and murders. However, for Nishi, these feel less like action-packed scenes and more like sad lashing outs from an unstable man at his worst. Nishi is capable of staying calm and being happy, but as soon as someone gets in his way, he isn’t afraid to make them pay.

7/10. Hana-bi is certainly not what I expected, and there aren’t many films like it in my opinion. I like what it was going for with its loose structure and artistic execution. An impressive work from Takeshi Kitano.