Sonatine (1993)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano (written by)

Release Date:

10 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's Japan's best kept secret - unleashed on America for the first time.

Plot:

Several yakuza from Tokyo are sent to Okinawa to help end a gang war. The war escalates and the Tokyo drifters decide to lay low at the beach.

Plot Keywords:

Beach | Yakuza | Assault | Gang War | Rainstorm

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Takeshi Kitano	...	Aniki Murakawa
Aya Kokumai	...	Miyuki
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Uechi
Masanobu Katsumura	...	Ryoji
Susumu Terajima	...	Ken
Ren Osugi	...	Katagiri
Tonbo Zushi	...	Kitajima
Kenichi Yajima	...	Takahashi
Eiji Minakata	...	The Hit Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rome Kanda	...	Gangster
Houka Kinoshita	...	A member of kitajima-gumi
Kôta Mizumori
Yuuki Natsusaka	...	Murakawa-gumi kumiin
Kanji Tsuda
Kanta Yamazaki	...	Waiter

Also Known As:

Sonachine

MPAA:

Rated R for bloody shootings, language and some sexuality.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

France:-12 | South Korea:18 | Ireland:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Norway:15 | Germany:16 (cut) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Okinawa, Japan

Company:

Bandai Visual Company

Quotes:

Miyuki: You're tough. I love tough guys.
Aniki Murakawa: I wouldn't carry a gun if I were tough.
Miyuki: You can shoot without a second thought.
Aniki Murakawa: I shoot fast because I get scared fast.
Miyuki: But you're not afraid of dying, are you?
Aniki Murakawa: When you're scared all the time, you reach a point when you wish you were dead.

Movie Connections:

References Sono otoko, kyôbô ni tsuki (1989)

Poetic vision of a hard man's lonely life

This is exactly what I'd do if my gang's territory was being threatened by conspiracy and rivalry in the criminal underworld - hide out on a nice beach playing fantastic-looking firework and sumo games with me mates and some random passing woman, listening to crazy old men singing in incredible voices, watching out for assassins in fishing gear and generally building myself up for a massive showdown. Beat Takeshi is a genius with this kind of stuff, he makes his gangster a real man in full 3D, hardened by a hard life but still full of uncertainty and needs, and who in the world could have outdone his deadpan but humourous face, especially in those bleak final scenes. Shame about his appalling TV "comedy" though.