A world-weary yakuza in Tokyo is assigned to take his clan to Okinawa to help settle a dispute between two factions. He's suspicious of the assignment, but he goes, and within a couple days, his role remains unclear and several of men are dead. He retreats to a house on a remote beach to wait. The first night there, he rescues a young woman from an assault, and they develop a playful relationship. Over time, it becomes clear he's been set up, sent to Okinawa so that others can take over his lucrative territory. As his clan dwindles, he plans a revenge.
It's hard to believe, but Sonatine actually was a commercial failure in Japan so when foreign directors wanted to buy the movie and release it abroad, the movie company said no with the reasoning that it was "too Japanese" and that western audiences wouldn't understand it. Eventually, Sonatine found its way to foreign cinemas and the director, Takeshi Kitano (Hana-bi), was praised by critics all over the world.
It's not a traditional Yakuza flick in my opinion, Sonatine has a deep emotional curve and Kitano (who also plays the main character) takes his time to develop his characters. So you could say the the film has more heart and soul than firepower. The shootout scenes are short, but very effective, sudden and graphic. If you want to see Yakuza films that's done with care and has personality, check out Kitano's stuff.
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