Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Sonatine
Takeshi Kitano's masterful and meditative gangster film, about a yakuza sent to the beautiful beaches of Okinawa where he has time to ruminate on his fate.
Director: Takeshi Kitano
Overview
Murakawa (‘Beat' Takeshi), an established and ruthless gangster, is sent to intervene in a gang war on the island of Okinawa. When the situation takes a turn for the worse, Murakawa and his men are forced to retreat into hiding, but it’s not long before their enemies track them down. A final and breathtaking showdown becomes inevitable.
Kitano's fourth feature was the first to make a splash at international film festivals, playing at Cannes (Un Certain Regard) in 1993, and is arguably the most successful of his early films in distilling his signature blend of deadpan violence and warped whimsy.
Contains strong violence
Related
The Apprentices The Apprentices
Comedy 1995 94 mins Director: Pierre Salvadori
Pierre Salvadori's cult 1995 comedy, starring François Cluzet and Guillaume Depardieu as two young adults searching for love and success.
Ossessione Ossessione
Crime 1943 140 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of James M Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice is an electrifying tale of the seductive and destructive power of human sexuality.
Hyena Hyena
Crime 2015 112 mins Director: Gerard Johnson
In this stylish, dark crime thriller, a policeman’s complex web of underworld relationships is threatened by an internal affairs investigator.
Project A Project A
Action and Adventure 1983 106 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan’s rip-roaring action-adventure about a coastguard hot on the trail of a ruthless band of pirates in late 19th century Hong Kong.
Beasts Clawing at Straws Beasts Clawing at Straws
Crime 2022 109 mins Director: Kim Yong-hoon
The lives of ten strangers collide when a cleaner finds a bag stuffed with money in this slick, jet-black comedy that unspools like a Korean Pulp Fiction. Starring Academy Award winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari).
A Bittersweet Life A Bittersweet Life
Action and Adventure 2005 120 mins Director: Kim Jee-woon and Doo Hong Jung
A hitman becomes the target in this ultra-stylish neo noir from Kim Jee-woon.
Violent Cop Violent Cop
Crime 1989 103 mins Director: Takeshi Kitano
In his brutal directorial debut, ‘Beat' Takeshi Kitano plays a renegade cop who frequently resorts to violence and unethical methods to get results.
Violent Cop Violent Cop
Crime 1989 103 mins Director: Takeshi Kitano
In his brutal directorial debut, ‘Beat' Takeshi Kitano plays a renegade cop who frequently resorts to violence and unethical methods to get results.
Boiling Point Boiling Point
Crime 1990 97 mins Director: Takeshi Kitano
A young baseball player becomes mixed up with a psychotic yakuza, in Takeshi Kitano's hilarious and twisted crime tale.
A Real Job A Real Job
Comedy 2023 101 mins Director: Thomas Lilti
A young, inexperienced substitute teacher is quickly confronted with the trials and tribulations of his job, in this wry tribute to the teaching profession.
All to Play For All to Play For
Drama 2023 112 mins Director: Delphine Deloget
A single mother fights to reclaim her children from foster care, in Delphine Deloget's powerful indictment of the French legal system.
The Apprentices The Apprentices
Comedy 1995 94 mins Director: Pierre Salvadori
Pierre Salvadori's cult 1995 comedy, starring François Cluzet and Guillaume Depardieu as two young adults searching for love and success.
The Dreamer The Dreamer
Romance 2023 95 mins Director: Anaïs Tellenne
An heiress returns to her uninhabited family manor to be confronted with the one-eyed caretaker who resides there, in the dreamlike take on La Belle et la Bête.
Through the Night Through the Night
Drama 2023 109 mins Director: Delphine Girard
Part gripping thriller, part psychological study, Delphine Girard's debut feature about consent and modern society's attitudes to sexual violence.
Making Of Making Of
Comedy 2023 114 mins Director: Cédric Kahn
Cédric Kahn (Roberto Succo, The Goldman Case) crafts this witty comedy about a troubled film shoot.