Sonatine

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Tan C @TanZoi 1d *Sonatine* shows Takeshi Kitano’s style maturing: deadpan acting, minimalism, sudden violence, and static shots—forming a calm yet oppressive world. The seaside cabin section feels jarring, like a different film. It acts as an emotional buffer but comes off as releasing all the humor at once. Characterization is weaker. Most roles lack distinction and are hard to remember. Ironically, the mid-film "irrelevant" play—like the bomb-obsessed rookie and the annoyed veteran—makes them briefly vivid. Also, the dancing bearded man stands out. The detached style pays off in the third act: loose fragments tighten and release strong emotion. The ending—gunshot, music cut, abrupt stop—offers no release, making it linger. Some aspects still feel elusive. Kitano’s minimalist "refusal to explain" may be why it resonates. Despite weak characters, its rhythm and emotional impact are memorable. See more Joy B. @9mr_0 Jan 9 فلم جميل و قصة جيدة السرد كان متزن مع محاولة المخرج لعزل العاطفة و الشعور بالممثلين . الممثلين كان ادائهم جيد و البطل حظورة طاغي و مسيطر . تطور الشخصيات كان جيد لا توجد مبالغة درامية و تمثيل اوفر طول الفلم. التصوير كان هادىء و يعطيك شعور البرد . الموسيقى كانت جيدة رغم اول نص ساعة من الفلم كانت هادىء جدا. See more Lee B @RT16949772 03/21/2025 Gobsmacking.... amazingly itself See more DanTheMan 2 @DanTheMan2150AD 01/22/2024 From its hypnotic style to its pessimistic plot, Sonatine is a mesmerizing manifestation of Takeshi Kitano's continued revitalisation of the yakuza movie. It is a largely peaceful, contemplative work, punctuated by moments of extreme violence all delivered with purpose balancing the fine line between gorgeously dreamy and grim reality. Kitano's haunting elegy to the gangster way of life, he spends the film exposing the gangster ideal as the myth, of little boys who forget to grow up, doing so with incredible flourishes of style, playfulness and jarring outbursts of his trademark humour. Having only written four scenes, the vast majority of the film was largely spontaneous, often Kitano finding his feet in the moment at hand. Sonatine sees the bleak suicidal tendencies of Kitano's mind coming right to the forefront, especially since he suffered partial facial paralysis after a motorscooter accident not long after this film's release. One he has often mentioned was an unconscious suicide attempt, this alone lends a massive amount of weight to the Russian Roulette sequences, giving Sonatine so much more emotional levity to its already unconventional narrative. With the addition of another stunning musical score by Joe Hisaishi, Sonatine rewards those with patience, offering up plenty of existential dread among its exceptional beauty. See more david b @RT84911494 03/28/2023 Beat Takeshi's humour is well placed here between the dark and the light and between openness and humanity and the awfulness of the subject matter ie. death. Later in Hana BI he taps into the same sensibilities on occasion but its as a more playful approach here than later in films like Battle Royale where his satire is far more literal and in your face. I feel like Tarantino must have loved this as I see reflections from some of his films that come from this attitude and similar sense of humour. If you've seen quite a few 'by the numbers' films in this genre then this is like a breath of fresh air (and some bullets). See more 06/27/2021 Haunting off-beat gangster film. Kitano at his absolute best. See more Read all reviews

Sonatine

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