Sonatine [DVD]

This is a great film from Takashi Kitano that combines the familiar gangster conventions with his usual technical minimalism, quirky humour and a real sense of disregard for the value of life in the criminal world. Kitano's character is sent to a remote beach with a few men to hide out while a gang war/misunderstanding is resolved. My favourite parts of the film take place at the beach where the characters mess around to kill time with bouts of sumo wrestling, russian roulette and firework fights. They also dig pits in the sand for each other to fall into. It's a very funny and clever segment of the film. The Kitano character is a guy who is on a path of self-destruction and doesn't care less. In the scenes of violence the gang members shoot guns at each other and don't even bother to move or try to get out the way. They don't care about life. The film uses lots of beautifully framed widescreen compositions and Kitano has a very artistic eye. It's a unique film and distinctly a Kitano film. I dont think it has the emotional depth of Hana-bi but its my second favourite of his films although I also recommend Zatoichi.

Sonatine tells the story of middle aged yakuza boss Murakawa who is ordered to take his gang to Okinawa to settle a minor gangland conflict and return peace to the area. However, when they arrive they are attacked and are forced to retreat to the beach and wait until they get further orders from their Tokyo bosses. While the gang members seem content to relax and play on the beach, their fun comes to an abrupt end as they find themselves being bumped off one by one until Murakawa decides to face his rivals head on.
If you've never experienced a Takeshi Kitano film before then 'Sonatine' is a good indicator as to what to expect; beautifully shot, minimal dialogue, absorbing characters, sensitive, witty, stylish, emotional and spellbinding to watch. The term 'genius' is used far to liberally these days, but in Takeshi Kitano's case it's very well deserved, it's hard to think of any other contemporary director who consistently makes films of such high quality and in years to come will be considered some of the most significant in world cinema.

As any woman will be quick to tell you, men are not noted for their ability to multi task. But Takeshi Kitano certainly isn't your average bloke! Well blow me down with a feather, he can direct, act, write and edit his movies, but also has on his astonishing CV, comedian, novelist, poet, film critic, painter, game show host, TV panelist and video-game designer. Is there anything that this guy can't do? Apart from "Zatoichi" which I enjoyed very much, I have not really had time to catch up on his other films. I do have a miniscule life outside of watching watching DVD's you know! Time to take a lucky dip, and up came "Sonatine". The story sounded promising enough. A tough gang of Yakuza go to Okinawa where two feuding clans are involved in a bitter war. Their mission to keep the peace does not quite go according to plan.

My only knowledge of Okinawa was from the Second World War American invasion of the island group, where the entrenched Japanese fought to the bitter end. This sobering experience and the thought of greater losses on the mainland prompted the American decision to use the atom bomb at Hiroshima. The film is shot in large parts on Okinawa itself which lends it a strange atmosphere. The film starts as generic Yakuza stuff interspersed with flourishes of dark humour, mainly from Kitano's character, who is a killer with diddly squat in the way of redeeming features. No heroes in this film! Kitano then answers the question of what do Yakuza gangsters do in their downtime. Forced to retreat to a quiet beachside house following a rather hostile reception on arrival in Okinawa, they idle their time away playing many strange games. It is as if Kitano is either carrying out a weird experiment, or simply taking the pee out of us the punters. But oddly enough he seems to pull it off through sheer force of personality. His main character is stereo typical in that he wants to get out of the business of death, even though he is very good at his job. But of course getting out aint easy!

The film could be considered a three parter. First part, typical Yakuza gangster stuff. Part two, a pleasant interlude on Okinawa with plenty of good humour. Some of it treacly dark! Part three, following the intermission period, we are back to more typical Yakuza gangster stuff, with a thought provoking ending. The film contains a number of surreal moments, and did remind me a little of John Boorman's brilliant "Point Blank". The characters of Walker and Murakawa are similarly cold blooded killers. "Sonatine" is not typical Japanese fare, and the atmospheric and brilliant score by Joe Hisaishi is more western influenced. The score alone is well worth watching the film for. At the time of viewing I felt slightly frustrated by the films strange deviation into beachside holiday mode. But perhaps the true test of a film, is if it imprints itself on your memory, and this one certainly made an indelible impression. Kitano's odd experiment works surprisingly well, when it had no right to. The man, in case anyone doubted it, clearly has a lot of talent. I have now evidenced it for myself! But can he make a decent cup of tea? Probably!