And thats the highest compliment one can give in this specific case.

"You dont cater to the audience. You tell them what is funny."

"I'm someone who left their past twice, I dont have any more time for not giving it all."

"Do you know Lenny Bruce?"

"People come here to see us, not you - or someones singing."

"You have tamer material, right? And you have still plenty of time, so change your set."

"If you cant joke about yourself in private, you wont be able to on stage."

An odd family --

and the rest is tragedy.

And ascendance above it all. But - you know, the Kitano way.

With a twitch,

and a whimper,

shouting "I'm a comidian, you idiot" into some agitated persons face.

I only gave 8/10 because of the one shot in the end, attempting to show the audience what the heart of the story is all about. It wasn't needed, as another reviewer already stated in here before. Less is more. But the film had me in tears even before that (nostalgia inducing) scene - so, all is good -- it captured the essence, and thats really everything that was needed, and the highest compliment one can give in this specific case.

Well this was emotional. A deep look into the comedic roots of the now mega-famous global superstar Takeshi Kitano.

I've been a TK fan for a long time so I'm probably going to be a bit biased. This is how to do a biopic though.

It's focusing on his early stage life and how he developed into a famous comedic duo known as 'Two Beat'.

There could easily be another biopic about this legend considering his later-life, developing Takashi's Castle and becoming an internationally-acclaimed director.

The charm of this movie really does it for me. It's a rags-to-riches' tale and actually a lesson for streaming service CEO's, given how much quality content is dropped after one season now. It takes time to grow and develop your craft.

Watch this to learn about one of Japan's best comedians and directors.

Domo arigato Mr Kitano.

The voice actors in English are abysmal. Make sure you watch "Asakusa Kid" with the original Japanese dialogue, with subtitles in your language if you don't know Japanese. It would have to be better than the dubbed version I was forced to endure. Beat Takeshi was one of the top three comedic entertainers in Japan during the last decade of the 20th century, and though he went on to act, write, produce, and direct, this film, an overlong biopic, is focused on his early days, as a shy dreamer and a wannabe entertainer - who wasn't sure just how he wanted to entertain his future audiences. The film is as much about his mentor as it is about Takeshi.