Takeshi 'Beat' Kitano's sixth film (and one of his most successful in Japan) is a tender, funny and melancholy affair which will come as a delight to ardent admirers after the recent "Kikujiro" - widely, if perhaps unfairly, perceived as something of a disappointment.

Masuru (Ken Kaneko) and Shinji (Masanobu Ando) are two semi-delinquent slacker types wandering aimlessly through life until a fateful encounter with a rather handy local boxer provokes the pair into joining their local boxing gym. Shinji begins to show real promise but Masuru is less accomplished, drifting away from training and falling in with a local Yakuza gang. Slowly but inexorably the friends drift apart, each trying to sustain their new found interests and careers in the face of considerable opposition.

Retaining Kitano's customary feel for outlandish violence and Yakuza business interests, these elements - not to mention the exploits of two would-be stand up comedians - imply that the film may draw on details of Kitano's own adolescence. It's certainly one of his warmest films, though still typically devoid of cheap sentiment. As ever, the multi-tasking auteur writes, directs, and edits with real pace, humour, and genuine humility to produce yet another perfectly crafted little gem to add to his increasingly impressive canon of work.