‘Hana-Bi’ Wins at Venice

Takeshi Kitano’s “Hana-Bi,” a Japanese film of life, death and violence, won the coveted Golden Lion award for best picture at the Venice film festival Saturday. The film, with very little dialogue, tells the story of a detective, played by Kitano, and the problems that start when he visits his wife in the hospital instead of accompanying his partner and friend on a stakeout.

A successful stand-up comic in the 1970s, Kitano uses a trademark mixture of powerful violence, comic relief and cool that have made international cult favorites of his yakuza gangster movies such as “Boiling Point” and “Sonatine.”

The jury awarded the best actor prize to Wesley Snipes in Mike Leigh’s “One Night Stand.” Best actress went to Robin Tunney in Bob Gosse’s “Niagara, Niagara.”