Sonatine


3/4

Starring: Beat Takeshi, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katusmura, Susumu Terajima, Ren Osugi, Tonbo Zushi, Ken’ichi Yajima

Rated R for Bloody Shootings, Language and Some Sexuality

“Sonatine” is a strange little movie.  It is not a normal film, for one thing.  It relies on unspoken dialogue, inaction and stark violence to tell its story (what little story there is).  This is a movie that demands audience involvement and their intellectual participation.  Uncovering the pleasures of “Sonatine” takes effort, but the rewards are worth it.

Murakawa (Kitano) is tired of the gangster life.  He wants out.  But his superior, Takahashi (Yajima), has a new assignment for him.  There is war brewing between two clans in another part of Japan, and Murakawa is sent to mediate.  Of course things aren’t that simple, as he soon finds out.

Anyone expecting something like “The Departed” is going to be bored out of their minds.  “Sonatine” is a different kind of film.  It’s a look at the life of a yakuza and how they live in the violent world they occupy.  It’s boring, occasionally violent, and soul crushing.  Creating a lifestyle portrait on film is difficult, but Takeshi knows what he is doing.  By keeping things moving, he eliminates the possibility of the audience being bored.  Even if his characters are.

The violence in this film is stark and often disturbing.  By not pumping it up with music or flashy camerawork, Takeshi makes the gunplay all the more shocking.  There is unease to be found in this film, but no adrenaline.  This is not an action movie, nor is it intended to be.

By design, the character development is minimal.  Even Murakawa, the film’s central character, remains an enigma.  Takeshi wants us to see them as people, not “characters.”  It’s a daring choice because the lack of personal attachment can lead to boredom in the audience, but it pays off.  The focus here is on the life of a yakuza, not any specific person.

Unfortunately, the longer it goes on, the less successful it becomes.  The film loses its intensity early on and things get too ambiguous.  The film retains a hypnotic quality throughout and it’s always great to look at, but a little more clarity would have only helped the film.

This is one of those movies where you must accept it on its own terms.  It’s not for everyone, but for those who are willing to put in the effort, it has enough going for it to recommend.

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