Sonatine
Short description
Murakawa is a mid-level Tokyo yakuza who has grown weary of gang life. When a turf war breaks out among criminal clans in Okinawa, his boss sends him and several of his men there to act as mediators and help settle the dispute. The conflict turns out to be less straightforward than it appeared, and after the group is ambushed, the survivors retreat to a seaside house to wait for orders. While they kill time on the beach, the enforced pause shifts the men's sense of purpose, and Murakawa begins to question the mission he has been given and the loyalties behind it.
Takeshi Kitano directed, wrote and stars in the film, his fourth as director, following A Scene at the Sea and preceding Kids Return. Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Terajima and Ren Osugi appear among the 24 credited cast members. The production was handled by Shochiku and Bandai Visual, and the film runs 94 minutes.
Sonatine was released in Japan in September 1993. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.4 from roughly 25,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.5 from about 705 votes. A film critics' rating of 7.7 from 27 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores, indicating a generally favorable critical response.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's title uses a musical term. A sonatina is a piece that follows the basic sonata form but is shorter and lighter in character or technically simpler than a typical sonata; the term is most often applied to solo keyboard pieces, though sonatinas for violin and piano, and sometimes other instruments, also exist. According to Takeshi Kitano (who played Aniki Murakawa here), when a piano student reaches the study of sonatinas, they must decide whether to pursue classical, jazz, or popular music. His character in the film had to make a decision of equal gravity.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
