HANA-BI (Directed by Takeshi Kitano. Starring Takeshi Kitano, Kayoko Kishimoto).

TAKESHI KITANO could credibly be described as the Japanese Clint Eastwood, except for one crucial little difference: he’s a better director then Eastwood could ever aspire to be. After his return from a long layoff with last year’s intriguing but underwhelming Kids Return, Hana-Bi represents Kitano’s real return to form.

It is a profoundly violent but surprisingly contemplative thriller, something like John Woo but with a more silent, lyrical style, and it stars Kitano in the lead role as a brooding, monosyllabic, inscrutable police detective (hence the Eastwood comparison) – undoubtedly one of the most silently intimidating screen presences you will ever witness on a screen.

While visiting his terminally-ill wife in hospital, Kitano’s best mate is shot and paralysed in a stake-out which he should have been in on. He proceeds to extract the most brutal revenge imaginable, before resigning his job and resorting to bank robbery in an attempt to make his wife’s final days as perfect as possible. Much violence ensues, but none of it is gratuitous or decorative, and there are a couple of moments of surprisingly moving power and quiet elegance along the way.

The dialogue is very sparse, and the film’s generally understated and contemplative air will probably alienate any Arnie fans who happen to walk in by mistake. But in its own way, Hana-Bi is the most affecting action movie to arrive over here in quite a long time. Do yourself a favour.