Chancing upon the address and photograph of the mother he never met, nine-year-old Masao decides to spend his summer vacation making a trip to visit her. He is accompanied by brusque oddball Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano), who seems to have nothing better to do other than shout threats and sniff out easy money. A conscious attempt to steer away from the hardboiled yakuza films that established his international reputation, Kitano’s picaresque road film displays the filmmaker’s unique brand of sentimentality and his exceptional gift for deadpan comedy. Featuring a memorable score by renown composer Joe Hisaishi. 
Co-presented with the Japan Foundation.
http://www.japansociety.org/event/kikujiro