Darren Carver-Balsiger’s review published on Letterboxd:
Eternal loneliness is probably no different from a sadness which feels that way. Perhaps that's why time is no object in Hana-bi, remaining untied to everything, least of all order. Hana-bi is a slow, heavy movie but one which is far from despairing. The characters seem to exist in the background of their own lives; they're going through life, but just going through it, not enjoying or experiencing what it offers. Yet the film finds small joys later on. Spring blossom, dots of colour, innocent mishaps, single fireworks, silent laughter, seeing snow. Hana-bi is a film of silent conversations, remaining quiet until there's violence. It so lacks what usually makes cinema what it is. There's no convention, barely a story, just a slow glide through the world. Fire then a flower, destruction than rebirth. When Joe Hisaishi's wonderful music plays loud, it transports you. You can look out into the expanse, see the world in its calmly chaotic beauty, feel the wind which has travelled thousands of miles to hit your face. It's enough to make you cry. Surely Hana-bi is Takeshi Kitano's masterpiece, a miraculous movie of numbed emotions and magisterial confidence. Glorious cinema.
