Sonatine . Metro Pulse . 02-08-99

Sonatine

DIRECTED BY: Takeshi Kitano

REVIEWED: 02-08-99

A comedian, director, writer, and actor, Kitano is revered as something of a genius in Japan. He got started in show business as a stand-up comic at yakuza-owned nightclubs (talk about a tough gig), eventually getting his own TV show and movie deals. His most famous film, however, is a somewhat surreal crime thriller—1993's Sonatine (R), which you can now find at your local Blockbuster courtesy of Quentin Tarantino's Rolling Thunder releasing company. Kitano stars as a middle-aged crime boss who's having second thoughts about his chosen profession. Although he goes about his business of shaking down mah-jong parlors (and killing the owners if they don't pay up), he just doesn't seem to have any zest for it. Right when he's thinking of retiring, his own boss orders him to settle a dispute between two warring factions of yakuza in Okinawa. Guns blaze and people die; then his gang goes to the beach and frolics. While sometimes difficult to follow and often bizarre, Sonatine is nevertheless mesmerizing, if only for Kitano's arresting imagery and soulful acting. Far from comic in Sonatine, Kitano holds the viewer with his brooding magnetism and fatalistic charm—he's one of those actors who grabs your attention just by appearing on the screen.

--Coury Turczyn

Capsule Reviews
Sonatine
Sonatine

Other Films by Takeshi Kitano
Violent Cop

Film Vault Suggested Links
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Suicide Kings
Two Days in the Valley

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