Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

TheFilmGuy1 "When you're scared all the time, you almost wish you were dead."This film is absolutely incredible. Breathtaking, thoughtful, fun, violent, intriguing, artistic... I could go on. It's about a group of Yakzua who go to Okinawa and end up hiding out in a cabin by the beach. While the film starts off in a very typical Yakzua film way, it becomes a lot more than that.First, let me say that Kitano does a great job here. He wrote, directed, edited and starred in this film, and he does a great job at it all. The cinematography is beautiful, and it really makes this a pretty film. It really is in need of a bluray release, but sadly right now there isn't one. Kitano puts a lot of color into this film, using things like brightly colored shirts or the beautiful scenery or a bright blue car. The film starts looking very gritty and dull when they're in Tokyo, much like any Yakuza film, but as they go to Okinawa, it becomes much more rich in color, which is very interesting to see. You really get to soak in the beaches and waters of Okinawa, which are absolutely beautiful and make you wish you were there. The soundtrack plays a huge part in this film too. Joe Hisaishi does the score, and he has done other scores for Kitano films like Kikujiro and even studio Gibli films. His score gives the film varying moods, which range from mysterious and brooding to fun and whimsical, which fits the film well seeing as it has a little bit of all of these things. The movies starts as a violent and gritty Yakuza film, but about 30 minutes into it when they go to the beach to hide out, the film becomes almost like a kids movie (Reminiscent of Kikujiro, another Kitano film that has a more kid friendly vibe to it). They goof around and have fun, which really makes you like these characters. You feel like you know what these characters are like and they feel real. Everyone in the cast does a good job, especially Kitano. This is a movie that really makes you think as the credits roll. It gives you enough to understand what Kitano is trying to say, but also leaves a few things up to the viewer to decide, and I really like that. I don't want a film to give me everything, but at the same time, I don't want to be 100% confused. This movie really pulls that off.I highly recommend this to anyone. Fans of Japanese films, fans of Yakuza movies, fans of art house films, just fans of film in general. It's a masterpiece that is very underrated, and absolutely needs to be seen by more people.

Angelus2 Murakawa is a Yakuza who is sent to Okinawa by his boss, Murakawa suspects that this is a set-up but he goes anyway. When he gets to Okinawa with his crew he finds that things are worse than he previously thought two Yakuza clans are at war. Murakawa dispatches a group through a gun fight and hides out in a beach house with his remaining soldiers.I've known about Kitano's legacy and so decided to watch 'Brother' his American debut....I found it quite boring and well, a disappointment and so I decided to check out his earlier stuff...and let's just say that I consider him one of the greats..minus 'Brother' which was clearly made for American audiences and required Kitano to abandon what made him great...his weird humour.Sonatine at first starts off as a typical gangster movie, you have the gangsters and their traditions with violence following and then the film takes a turn. The Yakuza's are left to their own devices having to entertain themselves in a remote beach house, I found this hilarious as Murakawa a man broken by years of violence and unhappiness (My own interpretation) finds a little ray of sunshine as he 'hangs out' with his gang on a friend basis rather than a boss, course then comes the highlight of the film the beautiful Aya Kokumai who falls in love with Murakawa...And then violence follows one more, only this time the violence is truly justified.My favourite scene is when Murakawa waits for Katagiri and the other guy to fall into his 'trap'...Absolutly hilarious and then there is the brilliant sumo scene! Just wow...It's truly a masterpiece of Japanese cinema.

Scarecrow-88 A yakuza mob leader, Beat Takeshi, is told by his clan's head boss to go to Okinawa to straighten out a war between two factions. Something leaves Takeshi disturbed when he and his men notice that the situation isn't as terrible as they were led to believe and that the two supposedly warring factions appear to be barely fighting at all. A feeling of being set-up comes over Takeshi and his men leading to their excommunication from their clan in Tokyo.As the Anan clan increases it's grip on the other clan supported by Takeshi, they flee to a beach where they remain safe for a while. But, despite their having fun while wasting away the hours, it's only a matter of time before the path of violence and death will escalate.I think the film's main strength is the beach sequences in the middle of the film as we watch human beings letting loose and enjoying themselves as they wait for word from their bosses in Tokyo and Okinawa. We see them setting up pothole traps for each other, shooting bottle-rockets at each other, playing a fake game of Russian Roulette, and shooting their guns at Frisbees. They are able, for this short amount of time, to escape the blood-shed and fear of being immersed in yakuza culture. Here is where Takeshi Kitano can provide proof that he is a great filmmaker with an artist's touch showing that these members of a violent organization are human. A constant in Kitano's films is the absurd humorous flourishes which makes his characters unique. We see the explosions of violence followed by the quite close-ups of calm faces dealing with what just happened. We can understand that dying is always on the minds of the yakuza and Takeshi's group are always expecting something to happen. The beach at least provides them temporary solace from what will soon occur..their violent paths in life will come calling for them. You just can not escape who you are no matter how far away you go or the location of where you go..your shadow follows you.Interesting element in the film also is the love interest provided to Takeshi and how this flirtation with a possible normal life is simply that..a flirtation. The ending shows the final confrontation between Takeshi and the yakuza clan who betrays him because the turf he patrolled and ran was the most profitable. The final statement from Takeshi, I believe, states his yakuza boss just wishes for the madness to end and that it will have to be done alone in a car on some barren, wide stretch of road away from the cities that occupy the violence he has represented for so long.

MartinHafer Technically this was an exceptional movie. The direction and acting were so very realistic and lacked clichés seen in some gangster flicks. In this movie, as in real life, there are no "good guys"--just one amoral gang of thugs killing another gang of amoral thugs. The yakuza (i.e., Japanese mobsters) has been glorified by some or seen as an acceptable institution, but in this movie reduces them to the violent leeches they really are. I appreciated that a lot.Also, there were some amusing scenes that dealt with just how stupid these individuals are. My favorite was the one where two very young and brash thugs were bored so they stood on the beach shooting aluminum cans of each other's head! What idiots (the Japanese word is "Baka").However, the basic reason I can't score the movie any higher is that I really don't like gangster films (unless maybe it's a Zatoichi film where he is slicing these gang members in half). Plus, there really is no one to like in the film.