A Scene at the Sea (1991)

The lives of a young, hearing-impaired and gloomy couple are fulfilled after the boy holds interest in surfboarding.

Director:

Takeshi Kitano

Writer:

Takeshi Kitano

Stars:

Claude Maki, Hiroko Ôshima, Sabu Kawahara

11 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Claude Maki	...	Shigeru (as Kurôdo Maki)
Hiroko Ôshima	...	Takako
Sabu Kawahara	...	Takoh
Toshizo Fujiwara	...	Nakajima
Susumu Terajima
Katsuya Koiso
Toshio Matsui
Yasukazu Ishitani
Naomi Kubota
Tsuyoshi Ohwada
Tatsuya Sugimoto
Meijin Serizawa
Tetsu Watanabe
Keiko Kagimoto	...	Surf Shop Woman
Kengakusha Akiyama

Storyline

Born with a hearing impairment, Shigeru is a part timer working for the sanitation service. His girlfriend Takako has the same condition as well. On his usual pickup route, Shigeru finds a broken surf-board in a pile of garbage. His introduction to the world of surfing. Shigeru fails in his attempt to catch a wave. Takako looks on as the locals heckle the first time surfer. Un-hindered by the world around them, Shigeru and Takako commute to the beach every day. Impressed by Shigeru's determination, owner of a surf shop hands Shigeru a wet suit and an entry form to a contest. Ironically, Shigeru is disqualified from the contest for missing the announcement. Not to be discouraged, Shigeru's love for surfing consumes everything around him. He is able to fit in with the local crowd and even finish respectably at the second contest. Summer comes to an end and the cold wind starts to blow between Shigeru and Takako...

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Plot Keywords:

surfing | wet suit | beach | surfer | reconciliation | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Filmexport [France]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 October 1991 (Japan)

Also Known As:

A Scene at the Sea

Company Credits

Production Co:

Office Kitano, Toho Company, Totsu

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film by Takeshi Kitano that doesn't feature any violence.

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Connections

Referenced in Sup chuk sui dik ha tin (2005)

User Reviews

Beautiful At Times, But Not Quite Enough

This film shows that sensitive side of Takeshi Kitano's films. He can really create some beautiful and atmospheric scenes. Sadly, this film didn't have enough to amaze me. I know many people say this is an absolutely beautiful film, and while I cannot deny the beauty of some scenes, it can drag a lot a feel dull at times.

My main issue was with the main characters. It's supposed to be a love story, but I just didn't feel their connection was believable. It was as if we are expected to see them sitting beside each other day after day as some kind of big romantic connection. Now I understand that he is deaf and, while it sometimes seems like she isn't, the girl is deaf too, making this silent and beautiful connection appear. But I just at times felt like they just happened to beside each-other. They barely ever make any eye contact. You never truly feel that silent love for each other. It felt similar to how when Takeshi Kitano is acting, he has a stone face, but in the case of these characters it doesn't work. Kitano can do his usual emotionless face yet somehow convey a character underneath that face with emotions. The two leads in this cannot do that, and it hurts the film greatly. The film also suffers from being extremely repetitive. We see people walking down the same road numerous times, see the same surfing scenes again and again without any noticeable differences. I wouldn't have minded if you we're seeing him improve his surfing skills each time, but I felt like he didn't really. Even at the end he seemed... okay. His surfing was just good. I didn't know whether that was the point or if he was supposed to actually look really good at it. The surfing feels pointless if there is not a big change in skill. I just felt like I watched a movie about two deaf people who sit around and don't look at each other, and on of them becomes mediocre at surfing. Although I will say the soundtrack is amazing. The music gave me the feelings that I wish the characters would have. It helped add emotional impact to scenes that, without the aid of Joe Hisaishi's score, would have been dull. Kitano also gives us some great shots to take in and enjoy, but the repetition of a lot of them can wear on you.

In the end, it has some beautiful scenes, but just doesn't cut it. I wish I could have loved this, because Kitano can do some amazingly touching stuff, but it didn't hit my buttons in the right way.