Nihilism and violence in Sonatine | BFI video essay 

its not a gangster movie

Perhaps, best anti gangster movie ever! While being subtle yet explicit as well as a sophisticated exaggeration of existential artistic foreplay that quietly and instantly escalates into a crescendo of literal $#¡¢¡DE for an ending as well as a cinematic nod and homage that suggests the electromagnetic energy that possibly gets dispersed when you die signifying the soul or spirit causing something some distance away like from the car he was in to the shores of the beach to be moved by some unseen phenomena ergo El Fin The End in the Most Chef's Kiss way possible put best by pointing out that when it comes to each and everyone of us even the planet itself we are but a small dot in this universe...! This movie is a Masterpiece! Thank you Aiko!

now try the rest of Kitano's if you haven't already...my favorite director

amazing

I have to disagree - Murakawa retreats into an infantilised world in Sonatine, and although he '''wins''', it happens at great personal cost. I see it largely as a pastiche of those macho depictions of yakuza life, not as embracing it. Happy to debate it though!

Not at all

Imagine being wrong on every topic you're trying to describe lol

He got that rouge engaging edge back in spades for the Outrage trilogy. Kitano at his absolute best and most refined after decades of experience.

Hana-Bi and Brother are classics though

@@missingmissmoss I was also surprised that OP said that about Hana-bi, because it's always been considered a classic Kitano. Honestly, I didn't find it as good as some of his other work. To each their own. I still have to get a chance to watch Brother. Know where it's streaming?

@@PrincessCupncake Hana-bi seems like it SHOULD be the best Kitano film as it has all the trademarks. yet it lacks something

Kenny Blankenship and Vic, Romanoooo!!!!

Thank you.

bfi bluray 3 disc set out now!

Same

The movie itself isn't nihilistic, but it certainly explores nihilism and absurdism as threads of existentialism- examining the human condition in a world without order or (intrinsic) meaning. Much of existentialism deals with creating or finding meaning in existence despite the lack of intrinsic/objective meaning. Absurdism tends to focus on both accepting an existence without objective meaning (so you don't mourn it) AND rebelling by pushing forth to create your own meaning anyway- in this way it deals heavily with suicide as an answer, but an unfortunate one. Nihilism (which Nietzche defined as a concept so that he could describe its danger) is falling into a lack of meaning due to the collapse of a moral framework, and thus giving up virtue and giving in to all sorts of nastiness, whether its violence, suicide, etc. We definitely see Murakawa wrestle with a pull into nihilistic fatalism (the guy on the crane, Russian roulette), but we also see him engage with the absurd by attempting to create meaning and joy in a purgatory-like setting (the beach safehouse). We also see his personal journey play out in a super absurd setting, where things happen often randomly or unprompted, cause and effect break down, and truth is lost (how often is he completely lying, like with the holes? how often is he maybe lying, like when he tells the woman he'll come back? Or did he tell her the truth in the beginning when he said it wouldnt be work coming to visit him, because he was already planning suicide?)

it is sonna-teen, just as he says in the video. How do you pronounce it?