THE MOVIE

Takeshi Kitano really is a jack of all trades. Not only is he a writer, director and actor, he also pops up in just about every other type of media/publication that you care to name. A fixture of Japanese culture for many years it has only been recently that Kitano has broken out in the rest of the world and his films have received cinema, and now DVD, releases.

To many people Kitano is an acquired taste. While that is true to some extent, to simply dismiss him as someone you don’t ‘get’ is a crime against world cinema. This man is a genius and one look at his films shows you why. Everything about his films is deliberate, measured. There is a reason and a place for each piece of the web he is weaving and it sometimes may take several viewings to fully appreciate everything that he has laid out before us.

Like many great and prolific filmmakers Kitano has hits and misses, however the film I have reviewed today, Sonatine, is one of his triumphs.

Sonatine focuses on several Yakuza members, sent to Okinawa to act on behalf of their boss and provide assistance to one of their bosses associates. However, the plan isn’t as simple as that and the men have another, larger mission to complete.

The story of Sonatine is not what it is about. Sure, you could take it at face value, but then you would only be getting half the picture. It would be sort of like looking at one of those 3D-Eye puzzles and not seeing the picture, but knowing what it was meant to be. Kitano takes you into another world, a world full of real characters and people and then he makes you look at them all, their actions, reactions and lives. He forces you to look at what makes them tick and what they get out of their lives, do they enjoy what they do, or merely do it because they have to. You become a part of his story, having to work through the scraps of information thrown to you in order to understand what is going on.

Told with styles, substance and flashes of brilliance Sonatine isn’t to be missed, especially if you appreciate something more from your films.

THE TRANSFER

Video:

The anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen presentation looks decent enough and is very watchable. However, it does show signs of age. The picture on the whole lacks some clarity and can look a bit muddy and well, old. Colors are decent but tend to look a bit drab and there are a few scratches and blemishes. The dark scenes also suffer somewhat from a lack of clarity.

Audio:

The soundtrack is a Japanese 5.1 affair and it gets the job done although due to the film and directorial style doesn’t really give you an award winning aural experience. Dialogue is sound and comes across well through the central speakers. Sound effects and Joe Hiaishi’s brilliant electronic score (there are reasons why this guy is the best) are also well integrated.

THE EXTRAS

No real extras aside from some trailers.

SUMMARY

An excellent film that is a must see for cinema lovers. Kitano is in fine form here and now we can finally see this stalwart of Japanese entertainment. There are often good reasons why people attain a certain level of fame and after watching this film it is easy to see why Kitano has what he has. The DVD is just adequate technically but gets the job done.