SonatineThere are moments when someone discovers that after having lived their life a certain way, then presented with a decision to alter the course, that the crossroads can mean all the difference. Yakuza boss and enforcer Murakawa ("Beat" Takeshi Kitano) is tasked to mediate a truce for his own gangster boss, necessitating that he takes an assignment he does not want in Okinawa. When he and his men discover the dispute is negligible, and yet they find themselves repeatedly beset and ambushed, they lay low at a beach house, where they enjoy a much needed degree of soul-searching and perspective outside of their criminal occupation.
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Written, directed by, and starring Takeshi Kitano, Sonatine is an unusual "yakuza" movie, largely due to the auteur's signature style. Takeshi Kitano made a name for himself not as a director of action films, but initially as a comedian. There is a saying that it is easier to transition from comedy to drama than vice versa, with the implication being that comedy requires an acute understanding of human behavior and responses; this is a theme at the core of Sonatine. When Murakawa and his surviving gang retreat to the beach house in Okinawa to regroup and avoid subsequent attempts at assassination, in their boredom they play games with one another, keeping themselves amused and things light-hearted. Sonatine has moments of serious action and violence, but the lighter moments provide a spectrum of human interaction, portraying these characters as more than stiff, one-dimensional caricatures of gangsters. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has cited Sonatine as an influence on his own crime-and-dialogue partnered action films, with the understanding that the shocking events have weight when the characters in the story are more than just "characters", they are people. What this means is that we get a richer understanding of what it is Murakawa values and who he is, rather than him just telling us. Murakama may be a thug who happens to have risen in the ranks, but he's a thug who values the welfare of his men, something syndicate crony Takahashi (Ken'ichi Yajima) apparently does not when he orders Murakawa to take his men to Okinawa--into another clan's territory--at great danger over such a trivial matter. Our first introduction to Murakawa has him and his lieutenant, Ken (Susumu Terajima), shaking down a mahjong parlor owner who won't pay protection money; it's clear that this is the part of the job that Murakawa is more familiar with, not the kind of petty politicking which he finds himself caught up in, as it is with this assignment abroad. Murakawa senses which way the wind is blowing, but he's been at this a long time, and hesitates to make any drastic changes at first, begrudgingly going along with the order...but not before making his feelings brutally clear to Takahashi. It's no surprise that the opening shot of Sonatine is that of a speared fish, considering how "fishy" the assignment is which will turn things upside-down for Murakawa.
Moments of violence in Sonatine are often sudden and unexpected, and characters rarely react with any degree of shock or express any kind of pain at the assaults they endure. It is as if most people in this underworld are resigned to terrible violence as an inevitability. Although it may just be my perception of Kitano's sometimes inscrutable expression, but I suspect Murakawa is disappointed when these moments occur, as they are not a part of what he really wants out of life. There is no doubt that he's good at his job--sometimes too good--but that his interests in being a yakuza come from a place inside born more from mischief than deception. And considering "Beat" Takeshi's roots as a comedian, the frequent moments of comedy, dark or otherwise, should come as no surprise. Take the interrogation scene where Murakawa dunks the majhong parlor owner into the ocean by crane, but loses track of time, and accidentally drowns him. Or when the gang of obvious mobsters have emerged in the tropical Okinawa, and are transported by tour bus to their temporary hideout. Somehow the scene reminds me of a bunch of tourists going to Florida; one of the local mobsters even offers their guests soft drinks and ice cream. Another hilarious scene happens after one of the mobsters uses up all the fresh water to bathe himself, telling the others they must wait for the rain to bathe. When the rain does come, two of them run out and lather up, only for the rain to suddenly stop, leaving them covered in suds. Pure comedy, and a welcome contrast to the occasionally overly dour seriousness the yakuza sub-genre can sometimes find itself entrenched in.
The exodus to the beach house is where Murakawa's true personality--only glimpsed at previously--really emerges. He readily engages in childish pranks on his men; not mean-spirited ones, but the kind of innocent antics one might expect from a young boy, like hiding holes in the sand. But another side of him emerges when he defends a young woman named Miyuki (Aya Kokumai), who is almost raped by a man. Murakawa kills the assailant, leaving her to fawn over her heroic rescuer--even if he is clearly much older than her. These tough guys lighten up and actually seem to enjoy their lives on what is effectively a vacation for them. They reenact ring battles from a game they played with paper dolls. They have "wars" with fireworks on the beach, and even throw the frisbee around; a couple of them fire their gun at the frisbee, but it's all in good fun apparently. This is the moment where Murakawa must choose whether he will continue his life as another part of a syndicate which doesn't seem to value him or his men as people, or if he needs to find another way to live, given a taste of the freedom and liberating exposure from his time on the beach. The name of the film, Sonatine, is derived from the musical term, "sonatina", which is used to describe a point of decision in musical performance, such as jazz--effectively a crossroads. Murakawa understands the familiar tropes of life as a yakuza--honor, loyalty, toughness, and so on--but he rediscovers an inherent quality also associated with his chosen profession, the boyish enthusiasm which sometimes comes with a predilection toward crime. Murakawa's crossroads is deciding which persona to embrace, discovering who is the "real" him.
Recommended for: Fans of a tale of Japanese gangsters, one both full of action and comedy, a testament to the versatility and vision of the filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, and a refreshing genre film as a result.
Moments of violence in Sonatine are often sudden and unexpected, and characters rarely react with any degree of shock or express any kind of pain at the assaults they endure. It is as if most people in this underworld are resigned to terrible violence as an inevitability. Although it may just be my perception of Kitano's sometimes inscrutable expression, but I suspect Murakawa is disappointed when these moments occur, as they are not a part of what he really wants out of life. There is no doubt that he's good at his job--sometimes too good--but that his interests in being a yakuza come from a place inside born more from mischief than deception. And considering "Beat" Takeshi's roots as a comedian, the frequent moments of comedy, dark or otherwise, should come as no surprise. Take the interrogation scene where Murakawa dunks the majhong parlor owner into the ocean by crane, but loses track of time, and accidentally drowns him. Or when the gang of obvious mobsters have emerged in the tropical Okinawa, and are transported by tour bus to their temporary hideout. Somehow the scene reminds me of a bunch of tourists going to Florida; one of the local mobsters even offers their guests soft drinks and ice cream. Another hilarious scene happens after one of the mobsters uses up all the fresh water to bathe himself, telling the others they must wait for the rain to bathe. When the rain does come, two of them run out and lather up, only for the rain to suddenly stop, leaving them covered in suds. Pure comedy, and a welcome contrast to the occasionally overly dour seriousness the yakuza sub-genre can sometimes find itself entrenched in.
The exodus to the beach house is where Murakawa's true personality--only glimpsed at previously--really emerges. He readily engages in childish pranks on his men; not mean-spirited ones, but the kind of innocent antics one might expect from a young boy, like hiding holes in the sand. But another side of him emerges when he defends a young woman named Miyuki (Aya Kokumai), who is almost raped by a man. Murakawa kills the assailant, leaving her to fawn over her heroic rescuer--even if he is clearly much older than her. These tough guys lighten up and actually seem to enjoy their lives on what is effectively a vacation for them. They reenact ring battles from a game they played with paper dolls. They have "wars" with fireworks on the beach, and even throw the frisbee around; a couple of them fire their gun at the frisbee, but it's all in good fun apparently. This is the moment where Murakawa must choose whether he will continue his life as another part of a syndicate which doesn't seem to value him or his men as people, or if he needs to find another way to live, given a taste of the freedom and liberating exposure from his time on the beach. The name of the film, Sonatine, is derived from the musical term, "sonatina", which is used to describe a point of decision in musical performance, such as jazz--effectively a crossroads. Murakawa understands the familiar tropes of life as a yakuza--honor, loyalty, toughness, and so on--but he rediscovers an inherent quality also associated with his chosen profession, the boyish enthusiasm which sometimes comes with a predilection toward crime. Murakawa's crossroads is deciding which persona to embrace, discovering who is the "real" him.
Recommended for: Fans of a tale of Japanese gangsters, one both full of action and comedy, a testament to the versatility and vision of the filmmaker Takeshi Kitano, and a refreshing genre film as a result.