Murakawa (Beat Takeshi) is a weathered Tokyo underboss of a Yakuza family. His group is thriving financially thanks to the recent opening of a new subway line running through their territory. They have achieved such success, in fact, that Murakawa has all but surpassed his overlord. Jealous of the turf he so graciously laid at Murakawa's feet, Murakawa's boss orders him and his men on a so-called peacemaking trip to Okinawa. Murakawa reluctantly agrees, though as he comments to his closest friend, Ken (Susumu Terajima), he's tired of this business. When Murakawa and his men arrive in Okinawa, things are unsurprisingly not as they were explained. This dispute, said to be simple and at an end, destined to be bloodless, explodes at Murakawa's emergence on the scene, forcing him and his men to wait things out on an Okinawan beach. The most interesting parts of the film take place here, with Kitano focusing more on the moments of quiet than the moments of violence. Even more than in his other works, the violence literally erupts from out of nowhere. The stillness of the rest of the film makes this violence all the more shocking and the resulting casualties all the more overwhelming.

While in a few instances the film is impeded by Kitano's relative lack of experience as a director (this was only the third film from the actor who stumbled upon directing) for the vast majority of the film the elements of his style that make Kitano such a world-class director keep Sonatine captivating. Occasional awkward cuts, symptomatic of a lack of coverage taken during shooting, are only jarring in a fleeting sense: the film's overall visual flair, chemistry between actors, and fantastic through-line far outweigh petty technical issues. As he would later do to immense success in Zatoichi, here Kitano occasionally mixes traditional Japanese (in this case, more specifically, Okinawan) music and dance into his storytelling, to varying thematic and comedic success. Other segments particularly brilliant in their construction include the well known Russian-roulette scene and the films final moments which, while quite predictable, still somehow manage to be shocking.

Unusually strong acting is rare in Takeshi Kitano films, and Sonatine is no exception. This is no detriment, however, as much of the strength in his films comes from the realism they convey. At no point in Sonatine will an actor move you to tears or stir you to comments "Now there is a world class actor!" -- but these things should not be looked at as necessities, or even positives, in film anyway. Kitano and his cast will make you forget that you are watching actors, actors whom anyone at all familiar with Japanese cinema have seen in countless other roles, and instead convince you that what he shows on screen is real, and that everything that befalls the people within his carefully-constructed frames is as real as anything we experience in our own lives. However, Takeshi himself does show a side of himself unusual to his worldwide audience. For nearly a third of the film, his trademark blank expression is traded in for an infectious smile that makes Murakawa a far more interesting and real character than he otherwise would have been.

SONATINE is not, despite many reviews to the contrary, Kitano's best film. His later works are simultaneously more mature and more energetic; SONATINE will make you want to stir or take a break, while Hanabi or Zatoichi will leave you glued to the screen. The action here, while appropriately disorienting in its randomness, often feels just that, random, instead of true build-ups of energy as in the two films mentioned earlier. Also, in stark contrast to the almost poetic violence in Hanabi, the sequences are sometimes awkward in their construction. Still, SONATINE is, like Dolls, a crucial landmark in Kitano's filmography. Even a weaker film by a director as great as Kitano is required viewing, and SONATINE is one of Japan's most important films of the early 1990s.

Synopsis:
Kitano is Murakawa, an established and ruthless yakuza, sent outside his usual turf to intervene in a gang war on the tropical island of Okinawa. Things go wrong and Murakawa and his gang get caught in the crossfire. Forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway, Murakawa and his gang kill time by fooling around on the beach until their enemies begin to attack them one by one...

Review:
Takeshi Kitano is the man. When I see this guy on the screen, it is nearly impossible for me to imagine that he used to, in fact, be one half of Japan's most famous comedy group: The Two Beats (hence his acting name, "Beat" Takeshi). Kitano plays a yakuza like no one else and I wouldn't doubt if actual yakuza bow down to him in Japan.

Sonatine is one of those classic Kitano movies everyone talks about. Coincidentally, I had never seen it. This could be because of the fact that there was no DVD available with English subs (until now) or because I refuse to watch the dubbed American video release.

Now that I've seen it I can safely say that, while it isn't my favorite Kitano movie that I've seen, it is damn good. Kitano's unique style, which harkens back to Japanese films of old with its limited camera movement and lo-o-o-ng takes, is a breath of fresh air when a lot of films go for the throat with their break-neck style. That being said, Sonatine (or any Kitano film) is not for everyone. Many people will not be able to handle the above things I mentioned, which is a bit of a shame since Kitano's movies often pack a lot of genuine heart amidst all the genuine violence.

One thing I really dig about Kitano's films is his emphasis on friendship between men (and friendship in general). In Sonatine, our gang of outcast yakuza are frequently shown goofing off and enjoying life on an Okinawan beach. The things they do are very childish, but also quite touching and not activities you'd expect grown men to be doing, let alone gangsters.

As with any Kitano offering, the acting is spectacular. Takeshi is right on the money in his usual yakuza role he was seemingly born to play. It's also really interesting to see Kitano pre-accident since I haven't seen a lot of his older stuff before his accident. As Murakawa, Kitano is brutal, yet carries a sense of friendliness not often seen in guys who play "rock, paper, scissors" with handguns.

Kitano is joined by a couple of his regulars, most noteably the always stoic Ren Osugi and the always cool Susumu Terajima, playing their usual roles. However, it's still great to see Ren and Susumu doing what they know, even if we've seen them do it a hundred times before, and they're always a welcome addition to any film's cast.

Special mention has to go out to Joe Hisaishi, a frequent Kitano collaborator. Like all his scores, the Sonatine soundtrack is haunting and beautiful and nothing short of musical perfection.

DVD Specs:
Panorama Entertainment
Region 3
Letterbox
Languages: Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Stereo
Subtitles: Chinese, English
Extras: Collectible Handbill, Takeshi Kitano Filmography/Biography, Commentary (in Chinese)

Transfer:
Having just watched Panorama's awful transfer on Shoot My Darlin' (which really didn't deserve a good transfer anyway), I expected this to be equally bad. What I got was quite the opposite. The transfer is merely letterbox, but it's a very nice letterbox transfer. Colors are fairly good considering the age of the film. The film is 10 years old, but other than the fact that the actors all look younger, it doesn't show that much. The only negative points about this transfer are some infrequent specks and that it is overly sharp-looking, but this hardly mars an otherwise nice letterbox transfer.

Sound:
The Dolby Digital sound is adequate. It's not spectacular, but it does what it has to do. The dialogue and the excellent score come through nicely and that's really all that matters.

Extras:
It was nice to recieve an insert on a Hong Kong DVD, something that rarely, if ever, happens. Other than that, there's nothing here of interest besides the usual Kitano filmography/biography. If you speak Chinese you can listen to the audio commentary. As it stands, I have no idea who is doing the commentary or if it is any good, but I applaud Panorama for putting in the effort seeing as how most HK discs lack commentaries. On a side note, the DVD also comes in a nice slipcase.

Overall:
While not my favorite Kitano film of all time, Sonatine is definitely a keeper. Kitano's direction and acting are right on as usual and, if you can get over the slow pace, the film proves to be an ultimately rewarding experience. The HK DVD is well worth seeking out.