Sonatine

Like most Takeshi Kitano films, the body of this story is made up of the small details within the greater narrative, like the contemplative moments a couple shares, or the morbid retrospections before a bloody action shoot-out. The quiet observations momentarily disrupted by a sudden outburst of intense violence. In this glorious low tempo Yakuza film Kitano stars as a stoic gangster in desperate need of a holiday. When a ‘job’ goes wrong, Kitano and his gang are forced to retreat to a seaside hideaway. What follows is a series of beautifully observed deadpan scenes which constantly challenge our notions of what we have come to expect from the gangster genre. In Japanese with English subtitles. Cast includes Aya Kikumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Sesumu Terajima and Ren Osugi.