Lost in translation
Sonatine is a yakuza film that is violent as well as minimalist. I would probably get more out of it if I had some understanding of Japanese culture or language — but then again, if I understood more I probably wouldn’t watch it in the first place. There’s something about the emotional distance that makes it possible for me to watch it and see it as a film.
There was an interesting juxtaposition between Kitaro’s interview and Quentin Tarantino’s intro/outro. Tarantino exclaims over the yakuza genre, and specifically discusses Kitaro’s style. Kitaro, on the other hand, says (in translation) that he might like Taratino’s films better if he understood English. I kinda know how he feels.
