Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Music from the films of Takeshi Kitano: Sonatine

Kitano's return to the yakuza genre in 1993's led to yet another commercial failure in Japan. The violent, psychological look into the life of a band of wayward gangsters confined to the beaches of Okinawa was not what many expected from the comedian they knew. However, I will tell you this film is amazing and I'm not the only with this opinion. In fact Sonatine, two years after its release, became a huge international success for Kitano after a French publisher, Jean-Pierre Dionnet, pushed for its release in France after viewing the film at the 1993 Cannes. Kitano style really came to life in this film and the scoring from Hisaishi is no less as well. The haunting minimalistic piano theme for the film truly resonates with the tone and Sonatine is a smart, dry, odd and beautiful film because of it. This is my second favorite Kitano film and the film and soundtrack come highly recommended. Enjoy!


1. Sonatine I ~ Act of Violence
2. Light and Darkness
3. Play on the Sands
4. Rain After That
5. A on the Full Moon of Mystery
6. Into a Trance
7. Sonatine II ~ In the Beginning
8. Magic Mushroom
9. Eye Witness
10. Runaway Trip
11. Moebius Band
12. Die Out of Memories
13. See You ...
14. Sonatine III ~ Be Over

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