Achilles and the Tortoise (film)
Encyclopedia
is a 2008 Japanese film
written, directed, edited by Takeshi Kitano
. The film is the third and final part of Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, starting with Takeshis'
and continuing with Glory to the Filmmaker!
.
The title Achilles and the Tortoise refers to the motion paradox by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea
, Achilles and the Tortoise.
controls his whole life, leaving him insensitive of everything around him, including the death of his own daughter and his wife's desertion. He tries to please the art critics, remaining penniless. He is caught up in a fire and almost dies. Losing all his previous works, he is left with a single half-burnt soda can, which he assesses at 200,000 yen and tries to sell. This ends up kicked carelessly away when his wife picks him up from the street. They walk away together, seemingly finally rid of his artistic obsession.
on August 28, 2008 and won the Bastone Bianco Award (Filmcritica).
Japanese films of 2008
A list of films released in Japan in 2008 .-2008:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...
written, directed, edited by Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
. The film is the third and final part of Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, starting with Takeshis'
Takeshis'
Takeshis' is a 2005 Japanese film directed, written, edited by, and starring Takeshi Kitano. It is the first film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, being followed by Glory to the Filmmaker!, and Achilles and the Tortoise....
and continuing with Glory to the Filmmaker!
Glory to the Filmmaker!
is a 2007 Japanese film written, directed, edited by the film's lead star Takeshi Kitano. It is the second film in Kitano's surrealist autobiographical trilogy, following Takeshis, and concluding with Achilles and the Tortoise.-Movie Style:...
.
The title Achilles and the Tortoise refers to the motion paradox by Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea
Zeno of Elea was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher of southern Italy and a member of the Eleatic School founded by Parmenides. Aristotle called him the inventor of the dialectic. He is best known for his paradoxes, which Bertrand Russell has described as "immeasurably subtle and profound".- Life...
, Achilles and the Tortoise.
Plot
Kitano plays Machisu, who is born into a wealthy family, but loses both his parents as a child. When his father commits suicide after the collapse of his business, Machisu's stepmother (Mariko Tsutsui) sends him to live with an aunt and uncle who mistreat him and finally send him to an orphanage. As a teenager, Machisu attends art school and finds his style of painting challenged by the more experimental and conceptual work turned in by his classmates. However, Machisu strikes up a friendship with a fellow student, Sachiko (Kumiko Aso). They get married and have a daughter. As he grows older, Mashisu's obsession with contemporary artContemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
controls his whole life, leaving him insensitive of everything around him, including the death of his own daughter and his wife's desertion. He tries to please the art critics, remaining penniless. He is caught up in a fire and almost dies. Losing all his previous works, he is left with a single half-burnt soda can, which he assesses at 200,000 yen and tries to sell. This ends up kicked carelessly away when his wife picks him up from the street. They walk away together, seemingly finally rid of his artistic obsession.
Cast
- Beat Takeshi KitanoTakeshi Kitanois a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...
- Kanako HiguchiKanako Higuchiis a Japanese actress. Her credits include film, television, and radio dramas, stage, commercials, and voice roles. She married Shigesato Itoi in 1993 and has a dog named Bouillon....
- Yurei YanagiYûrei Yanagiis a Japanese actor and tarento born 1963-04-08 in Fuchū, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Yanagi was originally a member of Takeshi Kitano's gundan. In 1990 he continued to work with Takeshi for the film Boiling Point. Afterwards, he appeared in over eight more films before meeting up with Takeshi...
- Kumiko Aso
- Akira NakaoAkira Nakaois a Japanese actor and personality from Kisarazu, Chiba, Japan. He graduated from Chiba Prefectural Kisarazu High School and attended Musashino Art University. Nakao is a member of the Furutachi Project agency....
Reception
The film premiered at the Venice Film FestivalVenice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
on August 28, 2008 and won the Bastone Bianco Award (Filmcritica).