Kids Return

Kids Return
Directed by	Takeshi Kitano
Produced by	Masayuki Mori Yasushi Tsuge Takio Yoshida
Written by	Takeshi Kitano
Starring	Masanobu Ando Ken Kaneko Leo Morimoto Hatsuo Yamatani Michisuke Kashiwaya Mitsuko Oka Yuuko Daike Ryo Ishibashi
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Cinematography	Katsumi Yanagishima
Editing by	Takeshi Kitano
Distributed by	Office Kitano
Release date(s)	July 27, 1996 (1996-07-27)
Running time	103 min
Language	Japanese

Kids Return (キッズ・リターン, Kizzu Ritān) is a 1996 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Takeshi Kitano. The film was made directly after Kitano recovered from a motorcycle wreck that left one side of his body paralyzed. After extensive surgery and physical therapy he quickly went about making Kids Return amidst speculation that he might never be able to work again. The music was composed by Joe Hisaishi, and the cinematographer was Katsumi Yanagishima.

Plot

The movie is about two high school dropouts, Masaru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando), who try to find a direction and meaning in their lives—one by becoming a yakuza lieutenant, the other by becoming a boxer.

Reception

At the time of its release it was his most successful film yet in his native Japan, which until then had been notedly much less enthusiastic about his films than international viewers.

Cast and roles

• Ken Kaneko - Masaru
• Masanobu Ando - Shinji
• Leo Morimoto - Teacher
• Hatsuo Yamatani - Boxing club manager (credited as Hatsuo Yamaya)
• Michisuke Kashiwaya - Hiroshi
• Mitsuko Oka - Coffee-shop owner, Sachiko's mother
• Yuuko Daike - Sachiko
• Ryo Ishibashi - Local Yakuza chief
• Susumu Terajima - No 2 in local gang
• Moro Morooka - Hayashi
• Peking Genji
• Atsuki Ueda - Reiko
• Kotaro Yoshida
• Koichi Shigehisa - Trainer
• Kyôsuke Yabe
• Yoshitaka Ôtsuka - Delinquent group
• Masami Shimojô - Yakuza godfather
• Kazuki Oh
• Shintarô Hasegawa
• Kanji Tsuda
• Yojin Hino - Taxi office worker (credited as Yôjin Hino)
• Ren Osugi - Taxi passenger
• Takashi Hagino

Soundtrack

Kids Return
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi
Released	26 June, 1996
Label	Polydor

All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.

1. "Meet Again" 5:02
2. "Graduation" 1:07
3. "Angel Doll" 2:21
4. "Alone" 1:15
5. "As a Rival" 1:29
6. "Promise... for Us" 5:08
7. "Next Round" 1:28
8. "Destiny" 3:31
9. "I Don't Care" 2:18
10. "High Spirits" 2:03
11. "Defeat" 2:29
12. "Break Down" 3:46
13. "No Way Out" 2:51
14. "The Day After" 0:44
15. "Kids Return" 4:40

External links

• Kids Return at the Internet Movie Database
• Kids Return at AllRovi
• "Ｋｉｄｓ　Ｒｅｔｕｒｎ" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1996/dt001880.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-19. 

Reviews

• Nippon Cinema
• Review from Senses of Cinema