Timur B
Good music, ok story, decent acting, a bit slow, more a postcard than a movie.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
11/04/23
Full Review
isla s
This is a nice, relaxing watch about a hearing impaired couple who start competing in surf competitions. Understandably, there's very little dialogue - its a film with a genuinely nice 'feel' to it - the sound of the waves lapping etc. You can read a fair amount into the body language of those on screen. It is a little slow and meandering story wise perhaps but I thought it had a nice charm to it and it was fun watching the contestants compete at sea. I liked that music starts to play towards the end of the film, that adds a certain impact to it - instrumental style music, not loud and 'noisy' music. Obviously not the most action packed film by a fair distance, this is regardless a good, subtle film (with a nice ending) which I would recommend, yes.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Japanese film from 1991, when surfing was the newest, freshest thing.
Being deaf is neither fresh or new but still a theme for this film as the main character is deaf and in general not interested in communication with people.
He's got a girl, though, probably deaf too and she watches him as he hits the waves. He's not any good but he likes it, it's better than moving garbage as he does at work.
There are some contests and stuff for the excitment part, but this is mosty a very quiet and pretty meditative film with few words and a lot of silent lounging and watching. I often like that stuff, but it feels a bit dated and there's not that moving since I never get to know the characters that well.
It may be a film that will haunt me, since it's both sad and all right to look at, but right now, it's nothing much else than an all right, calm flick.
That music is way cool, though, and it's impressive that two non-speaking leads can hold up such a nice poetic bond without talking.
5 out of 10 surfboards.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
camille l
Avec A Scene at the Sea, son troisième film, Kitano, qui ne se met pas en scène pour la première fois, conte l'histoire d'un éboueur muet qui décide de se mettre au surf. Dans sa manière si distinctive (de longs plans fixes, un rythme délibérément lent, parfois presque trop, très peu de dialogue), Kitano enfile les ellipses comme des perles, laisse le spectateur comprendre ce qu'il se passe sans jamais lui expliquer, quitte à ce que celui-ci passe totalement à côté de ce qu'il se passe. Il est bien aidé par les acteurs, qui sont parfaits. Claude Maki & Oshima Hiroko sont très touchants, tandis que les seconds rôles sont sympathiques à souhait. Pour la première fois, Joe Hisaishi compose la bande-son pour Kitano et celle-ci est particulièrement réussie. A Scene at the Sea est un drame passionnant et un des films les plus singuliers de son auteur.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
honestly it's kinda empty.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
Full Review
Audience Member
'A Scene At The Sea' is a practice in beautiful, saddening subtlety; it takes the minimalistic aspects of Kitano's earlier directorial efforts 'Violent Cop' and 'Boiling Point' and strips them of any semblance of violent threat in order to touch viewers in a different, yet very similar way.
'Mono no aware' is a Japanese term that refers to the impermanence of things and the quiet melancholy that accompanies such transience. This concept plays a heavy role in 'A Scene At The Sea (Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi) and is an important part of understanding the subtlety of director Kitano's work.
The plot begins with deaf protagonist Shigeru finding a surfing board whilst carrying out his job as a garbage man and deciding to fix it. Accompanied by his similarly disabled girlfriend, Takoko, Shigeru slowly begins to fall in love with surfing and looses sight of both his job and Takoko's affection. Due to their being deaf not a single word is spoken by either Shigeru or Takoko throughout the film's entirety, allowing Kitano to focus on the unspoken beauty of situations and the transient nature of existence.
Shots are still and long (often lasting for minutes) and cinematographer Katsumi Yanagijima frames every shot as if it's a painting hanging on the wall of a prestigious gallery, Joe Hisashi's poignant soundtrack is used heavily throughout adding a sense of drama usually only achievable through words and Kitano's eye for visual majesty is at it's best. Other then the aforementioned aspects it's hard to describe 'A Scene At The Sea' in a justifiable manner, there's a couple of surfing competitions, a sense of calmness, and no real substantial threat, but this is what makes it so powerful, and, ultimately tragic. It's more then just an ode to surfing, it's an ode to life.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
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