superb kitano. one of his best.
just chill
just kitano brilliance
Given the opening chapter's focus on internal Yakuza machinations and street-tough theatrics, it would be easy to reflexively label Sonatine as just another dose of dirty criminal intrigue. But then, when an inauspicious job goes sideways and the little crew of posh mobsters and crass underlings are forced into hiding, it takes a hard left and becomes something entirely different. Whiling the days and weeks away in an abandoned beach house, we explore the duality of these lives and soften their outer veneer.
In that sense, the internet-famous cover photo of writer/star/director Takeshi Kitano grinning broadly while holding a gun to his head is a precise depiction of the film's themes. These gangland thugs might be all business when they're intimidating store owners or trading bullets with a rival gang (nary an eyelash is batted when Kitano and company dunk a victim for too long and accidentally drown him), but on their down time, they need to cut loose, have a few laughs and make human connections, too. The really interesting points are where those two opposite modes meet, a jolting transformation when light amusement slams into stone-serious reality and all the easy smiles melt. There's always a momentary hesitation where we can't be certain which way the scales will tip, and that's dangerously exciting. Those key moments take time to develop, though, which leads the plot to really sag in the middle.
Kitano performs very well as the central figure, a stark dichotomy of incompatible moods, but he can't be on-screen at all times and isn't always surrounded by the best supporting talent. A strong thematic concept, one which evidently developed live in the field as the script was extremely bare bones, but not especially well-executed. Loaded with promising ideas, much of Sonatine’s ephemeral potential depends upon what you, the viewer, are willing to bring to the table.
Silence and violence matches beautifully in contrast. Aggressive men have pure hearts but cannot deny their ways.
Shout by manicureVIP 4BlockedParent2021-05-15T04:00:42Z
“Sonatine” is often mentioned as the quintessential Japanese mob film, but it’s quite the opposite. It’s an incredibly slow-paced, contemplative, weirdly edited film with little action, some old man jokes, and tons of escapist slice-of-life sequences. However, it definitely has its own unique mood that makes it worth watching.
Murakawa (Kitano) and friends are sent on a suicide mission to Okinawa, and spend their days drinking and playing games at their idyllic seaside hideout. We are shown how cold-blooded killers waiting for their inevitable fate to happen are unknowingly embarking on an internal journey to win back their long-lost humanity and innocence. The film lies the ground for psychological, character-centered cinema, but unfortunately, that’s not really the case. The characters are shown doing all kinds of things, but we are rarely taught anything about them. That’s why when they are eventually killed, it’s hard to feel anything at all. Maybe that was the whole point: to get into the same state of apathy as Murakawa?