the seventeen syllables
counted on fingers.
Gangster set-pieces
dominate opening scenes
before stillness falls.
Violence erupts
in deadpan nightclub shoot-out,
gunplay played for laughs.
Bad men now lie low
where sea, sand, horizon meet:
killers killing time.
Measured pace gives hints
of classical film-making,
Ozu with uzis.
Writer-director
"Beat" Takeshi Kitano
exudes po-faced cool.
Bad men pass the time,
sumo and Russian roulette,
triggers pulled with smiles.
Very nicely done. An appropriate format for such a poetic film. Sonatine is a personal favorite that I should revisit more often. Great work, Neil.
ReplyDeleteIt was an almost subconcious thing writing the review in this style. I generally don't make notes while watching films, and on the few occasions I do they're minimalist. I'd jotted down about a dozen words over three lines and when I read it over after 'Sonatine' had ended, it looked like a haiku. Some part of my brain that doesn't function logically decided it would be a piece of cake writing an article on the film as a haiku sequence. Took me as long as if I'd written my usual 800 words of prose ...
ReplyDeleteA review in haiku
ReplyDeleteon a bright digital screen
conjures moody clouds
(AKA: Good worK!)
Compliments received
ReplyDeleteare like sun through moody clouds
after day of rain.
In other words: thanks.