Hana-bi

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Hana-Bi (original title 花火, released in the US as Fireworks) is a film directed by Takeshi Kitano and released in 1997.

Nishi, a police detective with a violent temper, has quit his job after an incident that left his partner permanently wheelchair-bound. Upon learning that his wife has leukemia, he decides to help her spend what time she has left enjoying the simple pleasures of life.


Tropes used in Hana-bi include:


  • Badass: Nishi, who cuts down and robs criminals in droves by himself.
  • Bank Robbery: Nishi pulls it off on his own, without firing a shot nor saying a word.
  • Cool Shades: Nishi wears them all the time.
  • Eye Scream: Nishi does this to one of the Yakuza thugs that has come to collect the interest he owes them. With a pair of chopsticks. Both in the same eye.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Instead of showing the violent scenes themselves, the film abruptly cuts to the immediate aftermath.
  • Ill Girl: Or rather ill woman -- Nishi's wife.
  • Twitchy Eye: Nishi's outbursts of violence are foreshadowed by his telltale eye twitch.
  • The Voiceless: Nishi hardly ever speaks. He prefers to stare wordlessly and intimidate his interlocutors. And if intimidation doesn't work, that's where violence comes in.
  • Yakuza