So many things in this film are so well done. There is the nicely written and told story, the very suitable cast, the perfectly composed music and, of course, the excellent direction.

It was, from my point of view, a very good idea to have a variety of protagonists who are all, in some way, related to each other: all of them are just about to leave school and look for an adequate and fulfilling life. Some of them succeed, and some fail. Now the feat was to link all these single story lines together and make one film out of it. And Kitano really succeeded in this sector. And again this film has a lot of autobiographical elements in it. Kitano's own past as a delinquent or comedian for example.

The music was again a real pleasure. Joe Hisashi really knows his craft to compose very fitting melodies, which always remind me of old Japanese folk songs, and use them perfectly timed in Kitano's films.

If you've seen other Kitano movies and missed this one, you will definitely like it. For those who want to try out a Kitano film for the first time: watch it! It will be a very contemplative and rewarding experience.

Writer, actor, director, comedian Takeshi Kitano is probably the most famous man on Japanese TV but burst upon the cinema world at the beginning of the 90s when he utilised all those skills to create the violent yakuza trilogy comprising, Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Sonatine. His bravura direction brought something new to the screen and his laconic acting with off beat humour brought him great success. In 1997 he brought us the quieter and more reflective Hanna-Bi and the year before that, this film, made whist he recovered from a motor scooter accident. More low key than any of the aforementioned films this a fairly leisurely affair, lacking much of his trademark cutting and editing. The two school chums the film revolves around have met up in later years and we see their reminisces of their attempts at developing from school wastrels to possibly something more worthwhile. The boxing scenes, which are far more extensive than I had imagined are superbly brought to the screen and are probably the films finest element. The more influential of the pair moves into the world of yakuza and unless there is something lost in translation, it would seem these are presented almost as pantomime by a disillusioned Kitano whose very first screen acting job in 1969 wasps a gang member in the revolutionary director, Kaji Wakamatsu's. highly controversial Go, Go Second Time Virgin.

"Kids Return" is not a particularly enjoyable or must-see viewing experience. However, it might be worth showing to stupid teenagers, as the lesson in this 'Don't be an idiot'---and clearly illustrates the life of two morons as they enter adulthood.

Shinji and Masaru are two teenage juvenile delinquents. They often don't bother going to school and when they do, they goof off, beat up fellow students for their lunch money and commit petty crimes. However, as the film progresses you see some light at the end of the tunnel for the pair when they decide to take up boxing. However, one of them soon tires of it and joins the yakuza (Japanese mob). The other has a future as a great boxer. However, in BOTH cases, a lack of follow-through and stupidity ends up undoing their paths and by the end of the film, they are two unemployed idiots with no future.

Takeshi Kitano wrote and directed this film but did not appear in it. It's interesting in that so many of his other films seem to glorify the mob life--or at least look at it from a rather judgment neutral point of view. Here, however, it seems to be much more of a morality play where Kitano is taking away a lot of the romance and you see that dumb punks grow into dumb young adults! Well done but also not particularly enjoyable viewing.