Sonatine

"A ferocious man sleeps here."

1993 1h 34m JA

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 711

ActionCrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Murakawa, an aging Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life, is sent by his boss to Okinawa along with a few of his henchmen to help end a gang war, supposedly as mediators between two warring clans. He finds that the dispute between the clans is insignificant and whilst wondering why he was sent to Okinawa at all, his group is attacked in an ambush. The survivors flee and make a decision to lay low at the beach while they await further instructions.

“A ferocious man sleeps here.”

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Cast

Takeshi Kitano
Aniki Murakawa
Aya Kokumai
Miyuki
Tetsu Watanabe
Uechi
Masanobu Katsumura
Ryoji
Susumu Terajima
Ken
Ren Osugi
Katagiri
Tonbo Zushi
Kitajima
Kenichi Yajima
Takahashi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takeshi Kitano
Writers: Takeshi Kitano
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takeshi Kitano, shot by Katsumi Yanagijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Takeshi Kitano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Takeshi Kitano and Aya Kokumai and Tetsu Watanabe carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A ferocious man sleeps here.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0108188 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takeshi Kitano directs. Katsumi Yanagijima behind the camera. Joe Hisaishi scores. Takeshi Kitano cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

133 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Takeshi Kitano, shot by Katsumi Yanagijima. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Takeshi Kitano shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Takeshi Kitano and Aya Kokumai and Tetsu Watanabe carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "A ferocious man sleeps here.".
7IMDB entry: tt0108188 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 11 themes, including "japan", "beach", "yakuza", "knife".
9Released under 10 different titles around the world.