Contents. Plot Kitano plays Murakawa, a -based enforcer who has grown tired of gangster life. He is sent by his boss to, supposedly to mediate a dispute between their allies, the Nakamatsu and Anan clans. Murakawa openly suspects the assignment is an attempt to have him removed and even beats up one of his colleagues, Takahashi, whom he distrusts, but ends up going with his men.
He finds that the dispute is insignificant, and while wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, the group's temporary headquarters are bombed and they are then ambushed in a bar, leaving several of his men dead. Fleeing to the seaside, the survivors take refuge in a remote beach house belonging to a brother of one of the Nakamatsu members and decide to wait for the trouble to blow over. Whilst spending time at the beach, the group engages in childish games and pranks and begins to enjoy themselves. However, the games frequently have a violent undertone. When two of his men alternate shooting at a beer can on each other's head, Murakawa turns it into a game of. Putting the seemingly loaded gun to his head, he pulls the trigger on the last chamber.
The chamber is revealed to be empty and Murakawa is unharmed. Murakawa later dreams of the Russian roulette game, although in his dream, the revolver is loaded and he is killed. When he wakes up, he walks down to the shore. He sees a car pull up, and a man drags a woman into the sand and attempts to rape her. Murakawa stoically watches for a while and then walks past them.
When the man realizes Murakawa has been there the whole time and shouts at him, Murakawa headbutts him. The man pulls out a knife and threatens Murakawa. Murakawa then shoots the man, but to his companions, he claims the woman shot him.
She then joins Murakawa and the gang at the beach house, and comes frequently to visit, spending time with Murakawa. Later, an assassin disguised as a fisherman appears. He kills several people, including the boss of the Nakamatsu clan and one of Murakawa's men, in the middle of a frisbee match. Learning that Takahashi is arriving in Okinawa, Murakawa and two of his surviving men visit his hotel. Unable to find him at first, they unexpectedly run into Takahashi and the assassin in the elevator, which results in a shootout, killing the assassin and Murakawa's men.
Murakawa learns from interrogating Takahashi that their boss had intended all along to partner with the Anan clan and had sent Murakawa on a suicide mission to take over his turf. He also learns that the boss will be meeting with the Anan that night in a hotel. Takahashi is killed and Murakawa sets off with the only survivor of the group, a member of the Nakamatsu clan, who helps him by rigging the electricity in the hotel to go off at a certain time. Murakawa tells the woman that he may come back, and the woman promises to wait for him.
Later that night, while waiting for all the yakuza to arrive, the Nakamatsu member asks Murakawa to take him with him, but admits that he has had enough when Murakawa asks. When the electricity goes off, Murakawa goes into the hotel and slaughters both clans with an assault rifle. The next morning, while the woman continues to wait for him, Murakawa drives to a spot near the beach and commits by shooting himself in the head. The scene then switches to the car and the horizon and slowly fades. Cast. as Murakawa. as Miyuki. Aeropro drive gt.
as Uechi. as Ryōji. as Ken. as Katagiri.
as Kitajima. as Takahashi. as The Hit Man Production The film was conceived with four basic scenes; Yakuza having to go to Okinawa, Yakuza arriving in Okinawa, the machine-gun shootout, and the main character shooting himself in the head. Kitano said his shooting technique is spontaneous in that he allowed the film to fill in the space between these four scenes itself.
The title Sonatine comes from the musical term. Kitano said that when learning the piano, when the learner gets to sonatinas they have to decide where they want to go, whether it is to classical, jazz or popular music; marking the point of crucial decision making. This refers to the character Murakawa in the film. The film's poster is of a being pierced with a spear. Kitano said this type of fish used to be very common in the oceans south of Japan, but has been decreasing. He used the image simply because the contrast of the 'beautifully shaped' fish being speared seemed striking to him.
Soundtrack Sonatine by Released 9 June 1993 Length 51: 11 The soundtrack to Sonatine was composed. It won the for Music in 1994. The CD soundtrack was released in 1993 by, and later in France by Milan Records. 'Sonatine I (Act of Violence)'. 'Light and Darkness'. 'Play on the Sands'. 'Rain After That'.
'On the Fullmoon of Mystery'. 'Into a Trance'. 'Sonatine II (In the Beginning)'. 'Magic Mushroom'. 'Eye Witness'.
'Runaway Trip'. 'Moebius Band'. 'Die Out of Memories'.
'See You.' . 'Sonatine III (Be Over)' Reception Sonatine was a commercial failure upon its initial release in Japan, however, Western critical reception has been generally positive. Review aggregator reports that 88% of 25 professional critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.4 out of 10., who gave the film three and a half out of four stars, said it shows that gangster films do not need to have 'stupid dialogue, nonstop action and gratuitous gore' and that it reminded him of. 's Rob Mackie called it 'a largely peaceful, contemplative work, punctuated by moments of extreme violence' and gave it four out of five stars. Scott Tobias of summed the movie up as 'a fresh take on the age-old yakuza genre that's infused by odd flourishes of style and playfulness, and jarring outbursts of humor and violence.'
Named Sonatine second on their list of The 25 Best Yakuza Movies, behind only. Jasper Sharp, writing for the, listed it as one of the 10 great Japanese gangster movies.
The film's theatrical release in Japan was a commercial failure as Kitano was only perceived as a popular, and the audience was not prepared, nor capable, to accept him as a credible gangster noir character. However, with Kitano not yet famous abroad, the film benefited from this different situation, especially in the European market. Graffiti in depicting a scene from Sonatine. Sonatine was screened in the section at the. French publisher and notorious movie-goer, (/), reported in an interview, that someone convinced to watch Sonatine arguing that Kitano was a fan of. Delon was taken aback, and talking about Kitano's acting, said 'What's THAT?., this is not an actor., he only has three facial expressions and he almost doesn't talk on top of this.' Most professionals around Dionnet had the same reaction, but the French publisher was both struck and puzzled by this new genre.
He contacted the Japanese distributor in order to buy the license for Sonatine, but his request was rejected. Dionnet had to insist for several months to finally discover that the didn't want to release Sonatine abroad, claiming the film was 'too Japanese' and would not be accepted, nor understood, by western audiences. Eventually Dionnet learned that the distributor didn't want to release the license because of its commercial failure in Japan. Dionnet had an agreement with the Shochiku arguing that the French audience did not know Kitano's career and would accept his violent character more easily.
He bought Sonatine and three additional Kitano films, and the latest,. With the exception of 'Kids Return', all had performed poorly in Japan. In 1995, Sonatine entered the 13th in, where it was critically acclaimed. Sonatine, followed by the three other films were broadcast on the French channel Canal+ a few months later. Then a couple of years later on the Franco-German public channel. A video release followed, including a edition available in Dionnet's collection 'Asian Classics'. As soon as 1995, Takeshi Kitano played the role of a yakuza in American director 's,.
In North America Sonatine was released in theaters in April 1998 and released a subtitled video edition in 2000 as part of his collection. The same year, Kitano was convinced by his producer to go in the United States where he filmed his first (and last) film outside Japan. Was shot in with an American crew and local actors including. In an interview, Kitano admitted he was not fully satisfied with the final result of Brother and that he regretted his 'Hollywood' adventure which was supposed to bring him a broader audience with a higher exposure. Kitano confessed he had no intention of shooting outside Japan any more. Awards Sonatine won the Cariddi D'oro award for Best Film at the 1993. Aya Kokumai received the Best New Encouragement award at the for her performance.
The film's soundtrack won the for Music in 1994. In 1995, it was awarded Critic's Choice at the. References. 'The Genesis of Sonatine'. /Sonatine (DVD).
^ 'What is Sonatine?' /Sonatine (DVD). ^ (in Japanese). Japan Academy Prize. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
Retrieved on 2014-05-12. Rotten Tomatoes.
Retrieved November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015. Retrieved 2015-11-28. Retrieved 2015-11-28.
Retrieved 2009-08-23. Jean-Pierre Dionnet's interview on the Sonatine DVD edition, published in Jean-Pierre Dionnet's 'Asian Classics' collection (DesFilms/), France, 2001 (EDV 384). Takeshi Kitano interview on the Brother DVD edition, published by, France, 2001 (EDV 1035). Office Kitano. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
(in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-11-29.
(in French). Retrieved 2015-11-29.
External links. on. at.
Sonatine is a 1993 film by renowned Japanese filmmaker, and a rather odd one at that. The film stars as a mid-level boss, Murakawa, who is tiring of the gangster lifestyle and. Murakawa is to be sent with numerous other Yakuza to Okinawa to mediate a conflict between two Yakuza clans and reach a truce.
Upon arriving in Okinawa, things take a turn for the worse. Murakawa's temporary HQ is bombed and he is ambushed in a bar with many of his men, leaving several of them dead. Kurt vonnegut. Murakawa and the survivors flee to the seaside and take refuge at a house on the beach and wait for the conflict in Okinawa to settle before returning. Free of danger and restrictions, Murakawa and his men begin turning their time of being forced into hiding into a wacky vacation. Murakawa and his men play Russian Roulette, play pranks on each other, play frisbee, shoot at said frisbee, and more. Murakawa even finds love in an abused woman, who shows up to the beach.
Everything is fine as the group lives carefree on the beach. But then, things take a turn for the worse. Though a commercial failure in Japan, the film received the praise of critics and led to successful sales in Europe, eventually garnering the film numerous awards. The film was perceived as a serious step forward for actor/director, previously known mostly for his comedic work, who would go on to become one of Japan's most lucrative and renowned contemporary filmmakers. Sonatine is unique in that it starts as a standard-fare gangster crime film, but is turned on it's head, changing into a violent, philosophical arthouse film painting the portrait of an aging gangster on a personal journey to find oneself and live life to it's fullest, but is denied the wish to leave his criminal life behind. A must-see for fans of and Japanese cinema. Was brought to the states for distribution by as a part of his 'Rolling Thunder Pictures' collection.
This Film Provides Examples Of:.: The sheer absurdity and randomness of the actions of Murakawa and his underlings at the beach house invoke this in an otherwise grim and violent gangster movie.: The bag of guns and Murakawa's dream.: Unable to leave his criminal life behind, and with most of his men dead, Murakawa commits suicide in a car after wiping out most of the Nakamatsu and Anan clan in an act of revenge. The woman—Miyuki—is left alone, waiting for Murakawa after promising her that he would return.: A common complaint of Kitano's acting style, in this film and others. More likely due to having experienced a lifetime of violence and death he Murakawa and the other Yakuza have become so detached to violence and used to death nothing phases them anymore and worse do not have much to live for.: Murakawa's dream.: The sudden change from a serious crime drama to a quirky and more light-hearted arthouse film in the second act is pretty polarizing. Even more so mind screwy when it switches BACK to a violent gangster movie for the third act.: One of the film's most notable scenes. Subverted in that the gun is.: Pretty much all of the older gangsters including Murakawa.
The emotionally reserved nature of Japanses society along with a lifetime of being dulled to violence led them to express very little emotion in most situations though they do lighten up a bit on the beach.
'Maybe you're too rich for this business,' a friend tells Murakama, the stone-faced gangster hero of 'Sonatine.' ' Murakama, who rarely says anything, has let it slip that he is tired. When he is not actually engaged in the business of being a yakuza, he simply stops moving at all, and sits, staring into space, sometimes with a cigarette, sometimes not. He is tired of living, but not scared of dying, because death, he explains, would at least put an end to his fear of death, which is making his life not worth living. When he explains this perfectly logical reasoning, you look to see if he is smiling, but he isn't.
He has it all worked out. 'Sonatine' is the latest film to be released in this country by, who wrote, directed and edited it-and stars in it under his acting name,. It arrives here only a month after 'Fireworks,' his 1997 Venice Film Festival winner, but was made in 1993, the fourth of his seven films. He is the biggest star in Japan right now, and as a filmmaker one of the most intriguing.
This film is even better than 'Fireworks.' ' It shows how violent gangster movies need not be filled with stupid dialogue, nonstop action and gratuitous gore.
'Sonatine' is pure, minimal and clean in its lines; I was reminded of Jean-Pierre Melville's 'Le Samourai' (1967), another film about a professional killer who is all but paralyzed by existential dread. Neither movie depends on extended action scenes because neither hero finds them fun.
There is the sense in a lot of American action movies that or enjoy the action in the way, say, that they might enjoy a football game. Murakama and the French samurai do jobs-jobs they have lost the heart for, jobs that have extinguished in them the enjoyment of life. As the film opens, Murakama and his crew are being signed by a yakuza overlord to travel to Okinawa, as soldiers on loan to an ally who is facing gang warfare. They sense that something is phony about the assignment. 'The last time you sent us out,' Murakama tells his boss, 'I lost three men. I didn't enjoy that.'
' Murakama is correct in his suspicions: The district he controls has become so lucrative that the boss wants to move in and take over. These yakuza live by a code so deep it even regulates their fury. Murakama administers a brutal beating to the boss' lieutenant, but they remain on speaking terms. Later, one yakuza stabs another in the stomach. Yet they sit side by side on a bus in Okinawa. 'Ice cream?'
' says the guy who had the knife. 'You stabbed me in the belly and it still hurts,' the other replies, and we are not quite sure if he is rejecting the ice cream out of anger, or because he doesn't think it will stay down. In Kitano's universe, violence is as transient as a lightning bolt. It happens, and is over.
It means nothing. We sense that in a scene where three men play 'paper, rock, scissors' to see who will get to point a pistol at his head and pull the trigger to see if there is a round in the chamber. We see it again in a chilling sequence where a gambler, who didn't want to pay protection, is dunked into the sea; Murakama gets into a conversation and almost forgets to notice how long the guy has been under.
And we see it in the climactic battle scene, played entirely as flashes of lights: Who else would have the wit, or the sadness, to leave the carnage offscreen? Kitano was in a motorcycle accident a few years ago that paralyzed half his face. This film was made before the accident, but there's little difference between the way he appears here and in 'Fireworks.'
' The less he gives, the less he reveals, the less he says and does, the more his presence grows, until he becomes the cold, dangerous center of the story. And in his willingness to let characters languish in real time, to do nothing in between the moments of action, he forces us to look into their eyes and try to figure them out. Films that explain nothing often make everything clear. Films that explain everything often have nothing to explain.
Kitano at the premiere of, March 2017 Native name 北野 武 Born ( 1947-01-18) 18 January 1947 (age 71), Other names Beat Takeshi Alma mater Occupation Comedian, television personality, film director, actor, author, screenwriter, film editor, singer, painter, one-time video game creator Years active 1972–present Spouse(s) Mikiko Kitano Relatives (brother-in-law) Awards (1997) Signature Takeshi Kitano ( 北野 武, Kitano Takeshi, born 18 January 1947) is a Japanese comedian, television personality, director, actor, author, and screenwriter. While he is known primarily as a comedian and TV host in his native Japan, abroad he is known almost entirely for his filmwork. With the exception of his works as a film director, he is known almost exclusively by the Beat Takeshi ( ビートたけし, Bīto Takeshi).
Kitano rose to prominence in the 1970s as one half of the comedy duo Two Beat, before going solo and becoming one of the three biggest comedians in the country. After several small acting roles, he made his directorial debut with 1989's and garnered international acclaim for (1993). But he was not accepted as a director in Japan until won the in 1997. In October 2017, Kitano's completed his Outrage crime trilogy with the release of. He has received critical acclaim for his idiosyncratic cinematic work, winning numerous awards with Japanese film critic having once dubbed him 'the true successor' to influential filmmaker. Many of Kitano's films are dramas about gangsters or the police. Described by critics as using an acting style that is highly deadpan or a camera style that approaches near-stasis, Kitano often uses long takes where little appears to be happening, or editing that cuts immediately to the aftermath of an event.
Many of his films express a bleak or nihilistic philosophy, but they are also filled with humor and affection for their characters. Tomita, Hidetsugu (2016-12-03). Kirkup, James (23 November 1998). The Independent. Retrieved 19 July 2009. ^ (in Russian). ^.
Retrieved 2015-12-13. ^ (2003). Archived from on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 2015-12-13. Getting Any?
DVD published by Cheyenne Films EDV1040, France, 2003. Retrieved 2015-12-13. Retrieved 2015-12-13. How does pay cards work. Retrieved 5 February 2012. Kitano quoted in Lee Server, Asian Pop Cinema, op. 82 or see also.
Ghost In The Shell Movie
Retrieved 6 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-13. Williams, Eliza (17 March 2010). Retrieved 24 December 2012. Bradshaw, Peter (17 May 2010). The Guardian. Electric Sheep Magazine.
Retrieved 2015-12-13. Chang, Justin (2 September 2012). Sheib, Ronnie (17 September 2012). Macnab, Geoffrey (5 September 2012).
Screen Daily. Retrieved 1 July 2013. Bleasdale, John (2013).
'Yakuza Games,' Cinespect, 10 August 2013. Martin, Michael. Retrieved 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2016-04-11. Tomita, Hidetsugu (2016-12-03). Archived from on 3 April 2014.
Retrieved 2013-06-02. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to. at. on. at the (in Japanese).
– Kitano's Production Company (in Japanese). Davis, Bob (2003). Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
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