Sonatine (1993). Kitano's first great film is like a Zen koan that seems to happen mostly between the lines, where what begins as a dark inversion of Yojimbo quickly becomes a meditation on emptiness and futility. His characters cannot be deconstructed because Kitano has already deconstructed them; his characters cannot be seen as whole human beings but are rather pieces of them, stripped of meaning, value, judgment, and emotion. Kitano's dark vision is offset by an equally detached sense of humor. A-.
Hana-bi (1997). Hana-bi is a spare and inscrutable work of art from a masterful filmmaker. Flashbacks flutter in and out, which together with the muted palette gives the film a hazy, dream-like quality that allows Kitano to capture multiple, seemingly contradictory moods simultaneously. Kitano delicately juxtaposes quiet, playful tenderness with jarring and disturbing violence, all depicted with a subtle minimalism that aesthetically recalls Melville, Bresson, and even Ozu. These influences blend with Kitano’s own creativity to create a singular style. A.
