It's true that this is not an action movie. And as much as I love all that stuff, this is something so much more affecting. True, I did see this movie on the big screen, which in my opinion, could be the only way to see it. Not for spectacular cinematography, explosions or effects, but because this is one of a rare breed of movie that captures life... -real- life in such a way that you are -there-.<br /><br />This is a yakuza movie about human beings. Tattooed iron men and sullen street punks, and the violence that defines their life gradually gives way to a sense of renewal of human spirit. Sure, we've all seen those movies about how gangsters laying low at the hide-out get all paranoid and irritable, and as the ugly side of their nature emerges, they manipulate and eventually kill each other. How often do you get to see one about how they all start to loosen up, learn about and begin like one another, and eventually start to act like human beings again?<br /><br />This is a movie about the time that takes place between all the events in other action movies. Discreet indigenous sounds, and quiet vistas draw you in. The slow parts are as empty of event as they are full of reflective atmosphere, and violence is as sudden, intense, and shockingly brief as reality, and thus has a real weight. All of this almost camoflages the fact that this movie is also full of subtle but brilliant humor. You'll find yourself grinning at the boyish antics of the marooned Yakuza.<br /><br />Kitano has the tight-lipped charm of all the great leading macho men; a stout, Japanese Clint Eastwood, whose quiet , unflinching exterior conveys his tainted, tired soul. This makes it all so much more worth it when we finally see him smile. That said, while not as acrobatic, Kitano shoots people with all the detached cool Chow Yun Fat wishes he had.<br /><br />In many ways Sonatine is a totally Japanese piece of work; sparse, simple, unadorned, a little repressed,... and elegantly beautiful beyond all words.<br /><br />Oh, and if you hate the beach, this movie is probably not for you.