Achilles and the Tortoise (Achilles to Kame)

Always surprising, Takeshi Kitano applies a famous paradox from mathematics (the formula which demonstrates that a sprinter can never catch up with a tortoise) to the story of a boy who was given the dream of becoming an artist. Young Makisu has the creative spirit of the sprinter, but circumstances conspire to keep him crawling at the pace of the tortoise. There's too much bad in his life – a bankrupt father, a harsh foster-uncle, hostile schoolteachers – and then, when he grows older and is played by Yure Yanagi from the 'Kitano-gumi' stable of comedians, the endless struggle to find and develop a personal style while earning a crust.

Kitano himself takes over the role of Makisu in the closing scenes and uses his own paintings throughout to illustrate the character's travails – and, of course, to parody movements in modern art. There's plenty of the wry self-deprecation we've come to expect from recent Kitano movies, but also plenty of knockabout humour, including an inspirational appearance by the legendary Tokyo Shock Boys.
Tony Rayns