- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
Kitano returns to Cannes, 'indifferent' to success
Takeshi Kitano makes his comeback at Cannes next week with a new samurai epic, but the cult Japanese filmmaker told AFP that he strives to remain "indifferent" to success.
Kitano, who rose to fame as a comedian before winning acclaim as an arthouse director, said in an exclusive interview that he does things his own way.
"If I receive recognition abroad, I'm happy, but I want to be as indifferent to that as possible," he said in Tokyo before departing for the French film festival.
"I'd be very happy if something I'd shot... received good reviews. But that doesn't mean I will try to please."
"Kubi" is the first feature-length release in six years from the 76-year-old, whose eclectic career has included spells as an actor, author, painter and host of the gameshow "Takeshi's Castle".
Although his latest period piece has a bigger budget than the gritty gangster flicks he became known for, originality remains crucial for Kitano.
Despite being a huge fan of Japanese cinematic master Akira Kurosawa, when making "Kubi" he avoided watching the combat scenesin the director's 20th-century classics like "Seven Samurai" or "Ran".
"I hate being influenced," Kitano said. "I tried not to watch the battle scenes in Kurosawa's films, so I wouldn't be influenced by them."
"If they are similar, we probably had the same ideas," he added.
- 'Trying to quit' -
"Kubi" tells the tale of the 1582 death of Japan's most powerful feudal lord in a deadly trap at a temple in Kyoto, in what became known as the Honno-ji Incident.
The film is not in competition at Cannes, but will premiere at the festival on Tuesday.
It is Kitano's first Cannes appearance since 2010, when the yakuza movie "Outrage" went before the Palme d'Or jury.
But lounging on a sofa in his dressing room at Japanese network TV Asahi, having just recorded the political show he has presented for decades, the director played down his return to the big screen.
"I've been trying to quit TV and movies for a long time," he said, adding he was trying to take it easy, playing golf at his holiday home.
But even without the pressure to produce more work, Kitano found himself back on set.
"I thought I would make this film my last one," he said.
"But then, after we finished filming, the actors and crew said it was a good movie," he said, describing their appreciation as "the most important thing".
- 'Beat Takeshi' -
Having studied engineering and "space-related subjects" at university, entertainment was Kitano's second choice of career -- something that allows him to feel "relaxed" even now.
For decades he was one of Japan's most popular TV presenters, known as "Beat Takeshi", performing sketches dressed as anything from a sumo wrestler to a giant milk carton.
In contrast, his movies are full of tortured characters and dark humour, such as the underworld thrillers "Sonatine", "Brother" and "Hanabi", which took top prize at the 1997 Venice Film Festival.
Kitano's biggest commercial success, 2003's "Zatoichi", was also a samurai film, and "Kubi" is his most expensive film yet, having cost 1.5 billion yen ($11 million) to make.
"Most Japanese films are small-scale productions with small budgets... I thought I'd try to do something on a larger scale," Kitano said.
In fact, he had wanted a budget and crew "three times bigger", he said, and computer graphics were used to upscale the battle scenes.
Kitano first wrote a synopsis for "Kubi" three decades ago, but the project only took off after he wrote a novel in 2019 about the key moment in Japan's history.
It contains the themes of loyalty, betrayal and Japanese codes of honour often seen in Kitano films, and also includes close same-sex bonds.
"Japanese historical drama rarely depicts male homosexuality," although "it was common in that era", Kitano said.
So "I wanted to make a film that would never be done on TV" or in mainstream Japanese cinema.
The final product is more sombre, intimate -- and violent -- than the usual sugar-coated primetime samurai dramas.
And even with two future film projects potentially on the cards, Kitano says what people think will remain a low priority.
"I'm just doing what I like and what I think is good."
F.Pedersen--AMWN