From the purists convinced it can’t live up to the original, to the controversy surrounding the Hollywood ‘whitewashing’ of the Japanese animation, the furore around the release of Ghost in the Shell has been unavoidable these last few weeks. Whatever your thoughts on the issue, there’s one thing that stands out as really exciting; the film marks the return of multi-talented director, producer, writer, actor, presenter, poet(!) Takeshi Kitano to English-language cinema for the first time since 2000’s Brother. He plays Aramaki, the public security chief.
Having made his name in Japan as one half of controversial comedic duo Two Beat in the 70s, Kitano directed – and starred in – his first film Violent Cop in 1989. If you’re not familiar with it, the film is (perhaps unsurprisingly) about a violent policeman and his efforts against a group of yakuza gangsters that have kidnapped his sister. Showcasing the elements that would come to be known as Kitano signatures; long static shots, an often muted colour palette, dark humour, and minimal dialogue, Violent Cop also provided a first-look at a key aspect of all the director’s films – a strong, distinctive set of costumes.
Owing much to the minimalistic stylings of Japanese designers including Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto, the costumes throughout Kitano’s films provide an understated backdrop to what is often pretty graphic violence. The predominantly muted, often monochrome costumes – particularly the louche tailoring worn by many of his yakuza characters – are offset by frequent splatters of blood, which provides some of the only vivid colour in some of his more brutal films including Violent Cop, Hana-Bi and Brother.
Of the designers that Takeshi Kitano visually referenced in his films, it quickly became apparent that the admiration was reciprocated by one; Yohji Yamamoto declared himself a ‘Takeshi Kitano nut’ in the mid-90s and the two teamed up for the first time in 2000, with Yamamoto designing the costumes for LA-set yakuza drama Brother.
With Kitano and Yohji both the recipients of a cult-like level of devotion among fans, the partnership has so far spanned four films, the last of which, Dolls, is widely regarded as Kitano’s best work.
