Self-Destruction in Kitano Takeshi’s “Broken Rage”

Why Broken Rage?

The protagonist of this story is hitman Nezumi, played by the director Kitano Takeshi. He is known for faultlessly taking out targets on the instruction of someone known only as M, but the police are closing in. Detectives Inoue (Asano Tadanobu) and Fukuda (Ōmori Nao) arrest Nezumi but offer him a deal: acquittal in return for going undercover and infiltrating a yakuza drug-smuggling operation.

At 66 minutes, this is the shortest of Kitano’s movies, and its key feature is how the first and second halves tell the same story in two completely different ways. The first half is a truly Kitano-esque crime suspense thriller, while the second is a slapstick comedy parody of it. The work premiered at the eighty-first annual Venice International Film Festival amid strict secrecy, leaving the audience stunned when they grasped Kitano’s vision.

Detectives Inoue (Asano Tadanobu, left) and Fukuda (Ōmori Nao) offer Nezumi a deal to take down a smuggling ring. (© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC or its Affiliates)

The title, Broken Rage, recalls Kitano’s famed Outrage series. The first half, with its serious, suspenseful plot, certainly comes close to the feel of Outrage, but the finishing touches bring it closer to past works like 1993’s Sonatine or 2000’s Brother. Compared to Kitano’s past work, though, the structure, plot progression, and dialog seem somehow flat.

The second half further disrupts the power of the first half. It approaches the level of a variety show skit. The basic story is the same, but the film does not merely use the same script performed as a comedy, it rewrites the plot progression with gags and broad jokes. It seems that Kitano chose this structure out of a renewed consideration for the fans who have long loved him as comedian Beat Takeshi, giving them a “Takeshi-esque” viewing experience.

Nezumi with Kaneshiro (right), head of the gang he is infiltrating, and his underboss Tomita (left). (© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC or its Affiliates)

Two Sides of the Director

As a film director, Kitano Takeshi has two main creative styles: the plot-forward crime film, and a more disruptive avant-garde style. This work seems to be the latter, following in the tracks of 2005’s Takeshis’ or 2007’s Glory to the Filmmaker! However, it differs in how openly it shows his other face, that of comedian Beat Takeshi.

In that sense, Broken Rage is perhaps the work where these two Takeshis work in closest cooperation, more than in Takeshis’, where director Kitano and comedian Beat seem to blur together after meeting face to face. With 20 years since that film’s release, it might simply be that Kitano has grown more capable of such clear-cut film production.

In his role as Nezumi, Kitano lays his aging physique bare on the screen, then proceeds to run it into things, shouting “Ouch!” like gags in some old TV skit. The ability to make light of the passage of time and his own aging is one of the greatest appeals in this work, regardless of the cinematic quality.

Nezumi surrounded by special police forces. (© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC or its Affiliates)

On recollection, there were hints of that in Kitano’s last film, Kubi (2023). This was adapted from the director’s own historical fiction novel, but he made the choice to deconstruct the novel’s plot to highlight comedy and violence with skit-like presentation. Performances from Asano Tadanobu and Ōmori Nao shored up that choice, and there is a sense that their roles are essential in this one, as well. Nakamura Shidō, another Kubi alum, delivers his intense lines with all the brio of a working-class son of the Tokyo streets, much like Kitano did in Outrage.

And like Kubi, the primary driving force for this film is undoubtedly the cast’s performance. Unlike that previous work, though, this one’s goal takes “destruction” as a given. That surely required great care in maintaining a delicate balance to keep the film itself from breaking down. As the first role for Asano after his Golden Globe winning performance in Shōgun, it is also an opportunity to demonstrate his range and technical skill to the world.

Detectives Inoue and Fukuda pushing Nezumi around. (© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC or its Affiliates)

Kitano himself says of this work, “I tested some new things I wanted to try because this was for streaming on a TV screen rather than at a cinema.” He adds that during production, “I edited it thinking about someone watching laid out at home, and it ended up really short.”

In other words, this became a trial piece for Kitano Takeshi/Beat Takeshi, based on his understanding of TV as a comedic veteran of the medium. And so, this second team-up with Amazon has ended up showcasing his deep consideration of how cinematic works, in the streaming venue, now equal TV.

Trailer (Japanese)

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: A scene from Broken Rage. © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC or its Affiliates.)