Hana-bi

Nishi (Beat Takeshi) is a beleaguered Japanese police officer. His wife, Miyuki (Kayoko Kishimoto), is suffering from leukemia, and his partner, Horibe (Ren Ôsugi), is paralyzed after gangsters violently attacked him. Nishi is fed up, and wants to give up his job in order to be with Miyuki. To do so, he is forced to borrow money from the yakuza, and then, to clear his debt, he robs a bank. The yakuza, however, are not pleased so easily, and they continue to hound Nishi for more money.

Winner of the Golden Lion award at the 54th Venice International Film Festival and the Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics, this film propelled Takeshi Kitano to fame as a director following a successful, decades-long career as a comedic actor. Fun fact: several of the original paintings in the film are also by Kitano.

Presented in Japanese language with English subtitles.

(CW: This film contains scenes that could be viewed as controversial, offensive, or even triggering.)