A Scene at the Sea (1991)

Thanks for the memories!

It is a performances centric movie

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Kitano's style is very unique. You always can distinguish his films among hundred thousands of films at the first glance. The slow-paced scenes, the calmness, emotionless acting style, silent humors are distinctive. His actors rarely speak, but as the story go on, you realize what it is all about. The title is " A scene at the sea", and if we count all the scenes Kitano used in this film, there are not above 10 scenes, especially the scene at the sea covered all the story. I have planned to rate this film 7/10 since I didn't really catch the ending. However, I lied on my bed 10 mins and thought of it. I remember the day our maim character came to the sea was a raining day. There was not a group of people playing football as usual. The girl followed the boy from a distant. Our main characters were hearing impaired. They have been living in their small universe. The old dustman was working with another guy ( not shingeru). And lolz I hope u can understand what I am trying to say. Anyway, this is the reason why this comment has spoiler warning. For those who don't really catch the ending too. Here is my theory: Shingeru was hearing impaired and he couldn't hear the forecast weather. He went to the beach as usual without knowing a storm coming. He was swept away by the sea *end of theory*. When I realize it, I can not help admiring and respecting how Kitano could build such a simple and beautiful story. Every single repetitive scene has its purpose. By the time you realize what lie behind the story, the scenes, the sea; you feel its depth.By the way, this is just his third film. I can not help rating it 10/10

Deaf and introvert Shigeru works as a garbage man while his mind is at surfing. He has a very patient girlfriend by his side with which he communicates very little.Compared to another surf movie say 'Point Break' there are no other similarities than the surf boards. In 'Ano Natsu ...' there is no action, nothing spectacular and no glorification; its a slice of life movie with its humour in the details. The pace is slow, at first it seemed boring, but you'll grow into it quickly and find it rewarding.The 80s love scene style music by Joe Hisaishi was surprisingly tolerable, its understated anyway.My favourite Kitano film so far together with 'Dolls'.

I'm a big fan of Takeshi Kitano's work, and I feel this film is his best. Whilst films like Hana-bi, Kids return, and Sonatine may have all the idiosyncratic traits that have made Takeshi so critically acclaimed, they all rely on extremities to convey their message. In the case of 'Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi', the director has excelled himself by retaining all the interesting and original traits of his more graphic films, yet managing to tell a story that is just as deep and provocative, only to a more subtle degree.The story tells of a young, deaf, disenchanted garbage-collector who one day finds a ruined surf-board lying amidst some rubbish. This inspires the boy to become a great surfer, and with the help of a young deaf girl, he gradually becomes more skillful as time progresses, their love blossoming during the course of the movie.The camera work is extremely sedate and enveloping, managing to capture the calmness of the sea. The characters do not speak, yet the story never seems to drag at all, with each scene drawing the viewer steadily into this very attractive and insular world that they inhabit. The music, scored by Joe Hisiashi, has a very static, timeless quality to it - a mixture of marimba, synthesisers, piano & string instruments manage to convey the atmosphere of the film exceedingly well, with the main theme song capturing the extremely melancholy feel of the film.This is one of the most beautiful, haunting films you will ever see.

The silence is beautiful and poetic. The wave of the sea is the heartbeats of the hearing-impaired young couple, that only the people with beautiful mind can hear. The audience view the story from a distance but is consciously involved with things go. This is the best film from Japanese comedian/director Takeshi Kitano.