'Fireworks'), released in the USA as Fireworks, is a 1997 Japanese crime drama film written, directed and edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in it.

Becoming unemployed, Nishi spends most of his time taking care of his sick wife Miyuki, who has terminal leukemia.

In a conversation with Nishi, Horibe hints at committing suicide, while adding that he would like to paint but cannot afford to buy himself the necessary materials.

Nakamura and his partner attempt to reach Nishi, eventually tracing his route as he and his wife embark on their trip.

Although it was not a big success financially,[7] Hana-bi received critical acclaim and won the Golden Lion award at the 54th Venice International Film Festival and numerous other accolades.

Kitano himself said it was not until he won the Golden Lion that he was accepted as a serious director in his native Japan; his prior films had been looked at as just the hobby of a famous comedian.

[9] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[10] American film critic Roger Ebert rated it three stars out of four, citing its unusual approach toward serenity and brutality, calling it "a Charles Bronson Death Wish movie so drained of story, cliché, convention and plot that nothing is left, except pure form and impulse.

[12] David Stratton of The Movie Show called Hana-bi "an unclassifiable film" and "quite extraordinary," with co-host Margaret Pomeranz stating "I was ultimately so moved by it.