Broken Rage (2024)

A sort of Too Many Ways To Be No. 1 scenario, condensed. First we get a story about a hitman who is sent undercover, then a title card, then another version of the same story but twisted into an offbeat slapstick version.

It's basically a nod to the two sides of Kitano's career, the crime/Yakuza films he is best known for outside Japan and the wacky comedies he is or was best known for at home, maybe a reflection on the different paths his life and career could have taken.

It clocks in at just over an hour long so barely qualifies for feature film status - a fact it remarks on itself, along with its lack of budget.

There doesn't seem to be any particularly deep or profound message behind it, just a whimsical little project with a meta-narrative. Definitely not going to be of interest to anyone who isn't already a Kitano fan.