For the first hour of Takeshi Kitano’s Fireworks I felt that I’d never seen a film with so much respect for an audience’s intelligence. Kitano’s absolute command of elliptical editing is quite striking. I was reminded of Soderbergh’s The Limey (still his best movie?). There are those moments when you feel a director is so vitally in touch with his vision of what film (and a particular film) should be; Fireworks is one of those moments.

The silent scene between Nishi and his dying wife Miyuki should be required viewing for any director wishing to say anything about intimacy, the quiet solace of marriage, and the dignity of caring for another person. The epitome of anti-sentimentalism.