Achilles to kame (Achilles and the Tortoise)

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Movie Info

Director and screenwriter Takeshi Kitano charts the strange career arc of a struggling artist in this offbeat comedy-drama. Machisu Kuramochi (Reo Yoshioka) is the son of a successful businessman (Akira Nakao) with a passion for art, and at an early age Machisu decides he wants to make painting his career. 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 encourage him to hone his talent. As a teenager, Machisu (now played by Yurei Yanagi) attends art school and finds his traditional 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), who encourages him to follow his own muse and paint what he loves. Machisu and Sachiko become lifelong friends, and as they enter heir fifties, both are still painting in the style that they established in their youth. However, while Sachiko (played as an adult by Kanako Higuchi) has found an original voice in his work, it's become increasingly obvious with the passage of time that Machisu (Beat Takeshi) has borrowed all he knows from the artists he loves without bringing much of his own personality to the picture. Akires to kame (aka Achilles and the Tortoise) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast

Takeshi Kitano
Kanako Higuchi
Yûrei Yanagi
Kumiko Aso
Akira Nakao
Masatô Ibu
Reo Yoshioka
Mariko Tsutsui
Ren Osugi
Aya Enjojiu
Eri Tokunaga
Nao Omori
Aya Enjôji
Kuruo Hatoyama
Aya Enyoji
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Critic Reviews for Achilles to kame (Achilles and the Tortoise)

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Audience Reviews for Achilles to kame (Achilles and the Tortoise)

  • Dec 25, 2010
    Something is missing. Achilles to kame actually begins with a smart fable that poses its meaning almost before the movie ends (you can completely predict the last title card before it is shown). Kitano, however, makes a very uneven testament of that misunderstood and obsessed artist. It took me half ot the movie to realize it was a comedy, so it may be seen as three different skecthes... And even so, I was left cold. 62/100
    Edgar C Super Reviewer
  • Apr 07, 2009
    Kitano keeps doing his personal movies. In his last two movies we saw the "actor Kitano" and the "film maker Kitano", now it's time to see the "artist Kitano". First we see a kid whose dream is to be a painter, then we see him struggling as a young man and the real show begins when he gets old to be Kitano himself. All his life he never stops painting. Kitano has something to say about art and paintings and he is saying it in his quirky and funny way. A must see for Kitano fans and for people that are interested in painting.
    Serdar C Super Reviewer
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