Sonatine (1993 film)
| Sonatine | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Produced by |
Masayuki Mori Hisao Nabeshima Ritta Saito |
| Written by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Starring | Beat Takeshi |
| Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
| Cinematography | Katsumi Yanagishima |
| Edited by | Takeshi Kitano |
| Distributed by |
Shouchiku Daichii Kougyo (Japan) Miramax Films (U.S.) |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
| Box office | $58,834 |
| Sonatine | |
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| Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi | |
| Released | 9 June 1993 |
| Length | 51:11 |
| Label | Toshiba EMI |
Sonatine (Japanese: ソナチネ Hepburn: Sonachine?) is a 1993 Japanese yakuza film directed, written and edited by Takeshi Kitano, who also stars in the film. It won numerous awards and became one of Kitano's most successful and praised films, garnering him a sizable international fan base.
Kitano plays Murakawa, a Tokyo-based yakuza enforcer who has grown tired of gangster life. He is sent by his boss to Okinawa, supposedly to mediate a dispute between their allies, the Nakamatsu and Anan clans. Murakawa openly suspects the assignment is an attempt to have him removed and even beats up one of his colleagues, Takahashi, whom he distrusts, but ends up going with his men. He finds that the dispute is insignificant, and while wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, the group's temporary headquarters are bombed and they are then ambushed in a bar, leaving several of his men dead.
Fleeing to the seaside, the survivors take refuge in a remote beach house belonging to a brother of one of the Nakamatsu members and decide to wait for the trouble to blow over. Whilst spending time at the beach, the group engages in childish games and pranks and begins to enjoy themselves. However, the games frequently have a violent undertone. When two of his men alternate shooting at a beer can on each other's head, Murakawa turns it into a game of Russian roulette. Putting the seemingly loaded gun to his head, he pulls the trigger on the last chamber. The chamber is revealed to be empty and Murakawa is unharmed.
Murakawa later dreams of the Russian roulette game, although in his dream, the revolver is loaded and he is killed. When he wakes up, he walks down to the shore. He sees a car pull up, and a man drags a woman into the sand and attempts to rape her. Murakawa stoically watches for a while and then walks past them. When the man realizes Murakawa has been there the whole time and shouts at him, Murakawa headbutts him. The man pulls out a knife and threatens Murakawa. Murakawa then shoots the man, but to his companions, he claims the woman shot him. She then joins Murakawa and the gang at the beach house, and comes frequently to visit, spending time with Murakawa.
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