Search - Sonatine (1993) (Sub) on DVD

Brilliant, Funny, Poignant: Definitely not a John Woo Movie

C. Callaway | 09/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A brilliant, highly stylistic deconstruction of the film noir genre. Those who are familiar with the yakuza movies, too, will appreciate just how much of a radical departure this is from the conventions of the genre. All the action takes place in the most incongruous places, the yakuza life is portrayed (highly realistically but hilariously) as long stretches of interminable boredom disrupted by totally uncontrollable bursts of violence, characters often stare directly into the camera completely ignoring the matching eyelines (a la Ozu Yasujiro). John Woo aficionados will be disappointed; don�ft expect macho posturing or hail of bullets. By the way, the video package available through Quentin TarrantinoÕs Rolling Thunder line is transferred from an incredibly clean and crisp print, although not letterboxed. The drawback is that English subtitles suck; for one, liberally interspersing the dialogue with�@�h f**k�h when the characters are saying nothing of the sort."

Amazing movie!

C. Callaway | Davenport, IA USA | 05/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was surprised to read the negative reviews but in a way I understand. The movie is not for everyone. In my younger days, I would have felt that the movie was too slow. But now I think this is one of the greatest movies. The movie moves at a slow pace but that is the point. You get to know the people "as they are", not in an action packed or glamorous way. I especially liked the end "fight scene" where he takes out the bosses, note how he "says it all without saying anything". This is a "must see" movie... -CC-"

Masterpiece

C. Callaway | 02/07/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"this is the first takeshi movie i saw, and a few hours ago i just watched his other masterpiece, FIREWORKS. i now pray for the distribution of his earlier movies in this country, because the director of these two is a man of real genius. certainly better than any american director working today. takeshi's direction and acting are literally flawless, with a stoic lyricism remniscent of Hemingway's writing. he's the best asian director of our time."

The Meditation on Time

thewritingbuddha | Chicago, IL | 11/15/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I liked this film. It's a slow moving piece that grows on you. I agree that the dialogue could have been better (or maybe it's just the translation), but I thought it was a good cross between the hypnotic style of Kurosawa and an old-fashioned gangster flick. One of the reviewers said that it was just a bunch of guys waiting around. Well... that's partly true, but I found there to be poetry in the silence - much like in "The Scent of Green Papaya". We've been so brainwashed by Hollywood films that we get "bored" when nothing is said or done. This is not an action movie. It's a meditation on time.I see it this way... You may walk out of a bloodfest happy to have seen so many die, but... is the movie going to stay with you? It's the quiet ones that haunt you. It's the ... moments that flash in your memory - watching the waves crash against the shore as the men play russian roulette... the full moon that hangs in the sky, waiting along with them. It's in the bonding that takes place. The last few minutes of the film will stay with me. I liked this.."