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Brother (2000 film)

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Brother
Directed byTakeshi Kitano
Written byTakeshi Kitano
Produced by
Starring
Edited byTakeshi Kitano
Music byJoe Hisaishi
Distributed byShochiku Co., Ltd.
Release date
  • July 20, 2001 (2001-07-20)
Running time
114 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Japan
LanguagesJapanese
English
Box office$15.2 million[1]

Brother is a 2000 American-British-Japanese film starring, written, directed, and edited by Takeshi Kitano.[2]

Plot

Takeshi Kitano plays Yamamoto, a lone yakuza officer. Defeated in a war with a rival family, his boss killed, he heads to Los Angeles, California.

As time passes, Yamamoto and his new gang emerge as a powerful force, gradually expanding their turf to an extent that they must confront the Mafia. The Mafia's attacks are ruthless, and soon Yamamoto and his gang are driven into a disastrous situation of no return as they are hunted down one by one.

Cast

Soundtrack

Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Drifter... in LAX"Joe Hisaishi4:22
2."Solitude"Duke Ellington / Joe Hisaishi3:34
3."Tattoo"Joe Hisaishi0:56
4."Death Spiral"Joe Hisaishi1:04
5."Party - One Year Later"Joe Hisaishi4:26
6."On the Shore"Joe Hisaishi1:21
7."Blood Brother"Joe Hisaishi3:37
8."Raging Men"Joe Hisaishi1:19
9."Beyond the Control"Joe Hisaishi1:25
10."Wipe Out"Joe Hisaishi5:26
11."Liberation from the Death"Joe Hisaishi3:52
12."I Love You... Aniki"Joe Hisaishi4:37
13."Ballade"Coleman Hawkins / Joe Hisaishi / Charlie Parker1:53
14."BROTHER"Dean Dinning / Randy Guss / Joe Hisaishi / Todd Nichols / Glen Phillips4:32
15."BROTHER - Remix Version"Dean Dinning / Randy Guss / Joe Hisaishi / Todd Nichols / Glen Phillips4:15
Total length:49:39

Production

Impressed with Europeans' interest in yakuza, Kitano wrote what he described as an old-fashioned yakuza film. To greater contrast the character against more familiar elements, he set it in a foreign country, choosing Los Angeles as a place-holder. When producer Jeremy Thomas asked Kitano if he was interested in foreign productions, Kitano told him about the script. Thomas promised him complete creative control, which Kitano said he got. Commenting on the differing styles of filmmaking, Kitano said that American productions are more focused on the business side and are less sentimental. Kitano cited their strong pride in their professionalism as positive aspect.[5]

Release

Several scenes were censored for the U.S. release.[6]

Reception

At the time of its release, Brother was hyped as Kitano's vehicle for breaking into the United States film market. The film has a 47% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 73 reviews.[7] Roger Ebert, who has praised all of Kitano's films he has seen, complimented Kitano in his review but ultimately rated the film two out of four stars, writing that "Brother is a typical Kitano film in many ways, but not one of his best ones."[8]

On his side, Kitano stated in an interview that he was not fully satisfied with the final result of Brother and that he regretted his "Hollywood" adventure which was supposed to bring him a broader audience with a higher exposure. Kitano said he had no intention of shooting outside Japan again.[This quote needs a citation]

References

  1. ^ "Brother". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
  2. ^ The New York Times
  3. ^ "Joe Hisaishi – Brother (Music From The Motion Picture)". Discogs. discogs.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015.
  4. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Joe Hisaishi - Brother [Original Soundtrack]". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  5. ^ "Blood Brother". The Guardian. 2001-03-15. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  6. ^ "Beat Takeshi's BROTHER chop chopped for U.S. Distribution". Ain't It Cool News. 2001-08-02. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  7. ^ "Brother". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
  8. ^ Ebert, Roger (2001-07-27). "Brother". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2015-01-13.
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