Takeshi Kitano gives us ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’

The Japanese cult filmmaker Takeshi Kitano returns with ‘Achilles and the Tortoise’, a film that comically addresses the world of art and art dealership. The title is taken from the ancient Greek paradox of motion. Kitano’s non-action films (some of my personal favorites) are always both charmingly funny and extremely thoughtful. ‘Achilles…’ is the final installment of his trilogy of films about entertainment, following ‘Takeshis’ (2005) and ‘Glory to the Filmmaker!’ (2007). If you haven’t seen any of Kitano’s work, I recommend ‘Sonatine’ and ‘Kikujiro’ for a glimpse into his more poignant side, and for his more action-packed but still very thought-provoking films, I suggest ‘Boiling Point’ (1990) or ‘Hani-bi’ (1997) also released in the US as ‘Fireworks’.

Here’s the plot for ‘Achilles and the Toortoise’:

[“Achilles and the Tortoise” confronts the fundamental questions of what art really is and whether it has any true value beyond what it means to its creator.

In doing so, it mocks the art market, with an unscrupulous dealer passing off a child’s work as that of a master and a gallery owner pontificating on the merits of a series of works.] — Yahoo.com

To learn more, read my Meet the Makers feature on Takeshi Kitano.