Beat Takeshi lives the busy and sometimes surreal life of a showbiz celebrity. One day he meets his blond lookalike named Kitano, a shy convenience store cashier, who, still an unknown actor, is waiting for his big break. After their paths cross, Kitano seems to begin hallucinating about becoming Beat.
Direction
Kitano dismantles his own myth with gleeful self-sabotage.
Editing
Reality fractures so smoothly you don't notice the break.
Acting
One man, two personas, zero distinction between performer and performance.
Director
Takeshi Kitano
Takeshi Kitano
Beat Takeshi / Mr. Kitano
Kotomi Kyono
Takeshi's Girlfriend / Kitano's Female Neighbor
Kayoko Kishimoto
Mahjong Parlor Woman / Audition Producer / Costumer
Ren Osugi
Takeshi's Manager / Taxi Driver
Susumu Terajima
Takeshi's Friend / Kitano's Yakuza Neighbor
Tetsu Watanabe
TV Wardrobe Master / Noodle Cook / Audition Actor
Naomasa Musaka
Film Studios Tattooist
Koichi Ueda
Film Crew Member close to the Director
Kanji Tsuda
Film Director
Makoto Ashikawa
Assistant at Audition
Tamotsu Ishibashi
Toshi
Tadanobu Asano
Beat Kiyoshi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kitano had already played himself in multiple films; this is his ultimate 'Beat Takeshi' exorcism, made after a serious motorcycle accident left him partially paralyzed.
The film's structure mirrors Kitano's actual career trajectory: violent yakuza films funding his quiet, contemplative side projects.
JP
