Sonatine

Name: Sonatine
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Romance
Released: April 10, 1998
Duration: 94 min
Rating: 73
Cast: Aya Kokumai, Eiji Minakata, Hiroshi Ando, Ken'ichi Yajima, Masanobu Katsumura

1998

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 4 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Shochiku | Release Date: April 10, 1998 | R

Starring: Aya Kokumai, Eiji Minakata, Hiroshi Ando, Ken'ichi Yajima, Masanobu Katsumura, Ren Ôsugi, Susumu Terajima, Takeshi Kitano, Tetsu Watanabe, Tonbo Zushi

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

Director: Takeshi Kitano

Genre(s): Action, Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Romance, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 94 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael Wilmington

Writer-director-star Takeshi Kitano's 1993 Sonatine, a brutal, brilliant crime thriller about an aging gangster at the center of a maze of double-crosses and vendettas, gives us another look at a remarkable Japanese film artist. [17 Apr 1998, p.N]

Roger Ebert

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. Read full review

The Guardian Rob Mackie

Mostly, Kitano is as expressionless as Buster Keaton, but now and then a smile breaks out on that weather-beaten face. He doesn't use much camera movement either, but the combination of understatement and outrageousness is unique, and oddly appealing. Read full review

Thelma Adams

The violence in the existential gangster poem Sonatine is as flat and matter-of-fact as the antihero's face. Kitano, the Japanese Harvey Keitel, is a bullplug of a man whose very presence has gravity. [10 Apr 1998, p.048]

Staff (Not Credited)

Directed with the blend of moody atmosphere and punchy violence that has made Kitano one of Japan's most powerful culture heroes. [10 Apr 1998, p.B2]

Staff (Not Credited)

Kitano treated us to a similarly complex crime drama, Fireworks, but Sonatine (which was made in 1994) is a darker, deeper, more polished work. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Sonatine eliminates the one virtue American action films can legitimately claim -- vitality -- and replaces it with fake- existential claptrap wrapped in an inept narrative. Read full review

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User Reviews

ACE_96

Apr 5, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A lot of ppl don't get the idea of the actors not acting half the time That's what Takashi wants Build a weird place where if your friends die in front of you no one will even react to it
+ if the ending confused you, just remember the conversation about guns and death and you will understand… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Excalibur427

May 28, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sono uno scemo di merda quindi penso che questo film faccia schifo perché non sanno recitare e non hanno capito un cazzo della trama assente e infima. Non consiglio affatto la visione perché se lo faceste sareste dei lezzi. Punto e basta. Chiudo. Fine. Grazie per la pazienza. Ci vediamo in un prossimo film con me,, Excalibur il balbuziente.… Expand

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