Achilles and the Tortoise

Achilles and the Tortoise

V

Genre

Drama, Comedy, Satyra

Run time

1h 59min

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Screenplay: Takeshi Kitano

Photography: Katsumi Yanagijima

Cast: Beat Takeshi, Kanako Higuchi, Yurei Yanagi, Kumiko Aso, Akira Nakao, Reo Yoshioka

This final instalment in an iconoclastic trilogy on creative destruction is Kitano's newest reflection on art and life. The film takes its title from a famous paradox by the philosopher Zeno, which claimed that motion, time and change are nothing but illusions. As a result of his father's love of art, Machisu, a quiet child, is inspired to become a painter himself. Obsessive and obstinate – yet talentless – the child devotes all of his time to painting, not even losing heart when his father goes bankrupt and commits suicide. As a young adult, Machisu continues to find comfort in his mediocre art and in the company of a group of fellow students with whom he shares the unrealistic dream of becoming famous. With banal results, he mimics all of the fashionable trends, from pop art to abstract expressionism, and struggles through a life of gradually increasing craziness and irrationality.

Genre

Drama, Comedy, Satyra

Run time

1h 59min

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Screenplay: Takeshi Kitano

Photography: Katsumi Yanagijima

Cast: Beat Takeshi, Kanako Higuchi, Yurei Yanagi, Kumiko Aso, Akira Nakao, Reo Yoshioka

This final instalment in an iconoclastic trilogy on creative destruction is Kitano's newest reflection on art and life. The film takes its title from a famous paradox by the philosopher Zeno, which claimed that motion, time and change are nothing but illusions. As a result of his father's love of art, Machisu, a quiet child, is inspired to become a painter himself. Obsessive and obstinate – yet talentless – the child devotes all of his time to painting, not even losing heart when his father goes bankrupt and commits suicide. As a young adult, Machisu continues to find comfort in his mediocre art and in the company of a group of fellow students with whom he shares the unrealistic dream of becoming famous. With banal results, he mimics all of the fashionable trends, from pop art to abstract expressionism, and struggles through a life of gradually increasing craziness and irrationality.