| title | date | tags | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
A Scene at the Sea |
2024-10-29 |
|
Tonight I watched a Japanese live-action movie with a close buddy of mine. He recently released his own blog so feel free to check it out. Before I get into the nitty-gritty of my review, I will give a brief synopsis.
A Scene at the Sea is a movie directed by Takeshi Kitano. Released in 1991, it takes place around the same time that short boarding was going through significant advancements. The movie flows peacefully with very little spoken dialogue, and a focus on storytelling. It follows our main character Shigeru who works as a garbage collector and is deaf. He stumbles upon a surfboard on one of his garbage runs and becomes destined to take up surfing.
## Warning Spoilers Ahead!The movie starts off with Shigeru carrying on with his daily garbage collection routine. He stops and sees a surfboard with a damaged nose. He hesitates and decides to ignore it, only to stop a couple hundred feet down the street to run back and grab it. Furthermore, he brings it back to his home, where he works hard to patch it up to the best of his abilities. Shigeru is eager to get in the water at this point.
It is also at this time that we are introduced to his also deaf girlfriend. The two of them share a special relationship, devoid of almost all communication. They instead rely on an innate sense of understanding of one another.
Eventually the board breaks, and Shigeru buys himself a brand new high-performance surfboard (Pretty awesome, right?) . He continues to practice and eventually attracts the eye of the surf shop owner, who gifts him an old wetsuit, and encourages him to go to a surf competition.
He arrives at the competition yet misses his name being called for his heat. Nevertheless, Shigeru continues to surf, perhaps in hopes of filling the holes in his stale and silent life. It's this passion that he starts to hold dearly and eventually improves upon that drives him in his day-to-day life.
The cinematography complements the story and does not hold back in the slightest when it comes too long and static shots showcasing the vivid color and seascape. Most of the shots entail one character observing the other from afar, something I haven't quite seen much of in other films. It is, although the characters are pondering the detached reality of the others' lives.
Shigeru returns to the surf contest, and this time he makes it out into the water, where he performs well enough to land him a trophy among his group. This point of the film is the climax of Shigeru's hard work, and we can see that in the pictures he takes
Throughout the film, there are lots of silent and slow moments that are pulled together by the beautiful soundtrack created by Joe Hisaishi the same man who created the iconic soundtracks for various Studio Ghibli films we know and love. The music was built for the visuals and captured the aesthetic almost perfectly. With subtle orchestral arrangements, the vastness of the ocean was captured and the intimate journey of the characters was further brought to fruition. The music mirrored the pacing of the scenes yet was never overwhelming.
The ending of this film brought the both of us to our knees. It truly is one to remember, and is probably one of the most poetic meditations on love, loss, and the nature of our ocean. In the final moments, our film transcends the simple narrative and achieves something profoundly moving.
Shigeru's girlfriend is seen standing at the beach, looking out at the waves. The camera holds its place for a drawn-out length of time, leaving the viewer wondering when it will cut to Shigeru surfing. However, the camera does not move, and instead we see Shigeru's surfboard floating on the edge of the ocean shore.
As a surfer myself, my heart absolutely dropped. I was in utter disbelief, as this could only mean one thing... Shigeru had drowned.
His death is handled with the same quiet dignity and restraint that characterizes the entire film. There is no dramatic buildup or spectacle - he simply goes out surfing one day and never returns. Drowning in the ocean that had become so central to his life. The power of this moment comes as an understatement, we don't visibly see his death, and we don't really need to.
What makes this narrative so impactful is that it aligns with the film's themes. The same ocean that gave Shigeru purpose and joy ultimately claims him. There is no melodrama, and his death is presented as part of the natural order, like the ebb and flow of the waves themselves.
The way that the film handles the aftermath transforms what would have been a tragic ending to something more contemplative and spiritually resonant.
Shigeru's girlfriend deals with grief in a solemn way. Her final act involves taping a picture of the two of them to his surfboard before sending it out to sea. It is not only a expression of grief, but also an acknowledgment of the trust that Shigeru had found in the waves.
Kitano's choice to keep the death off-screen respects the film's established visual language. Like the deaf protagonists, the most profound moments don't need words or explicit depiction to convey their emotional weight.
A Scene at the Sea masterfully tells a story of passion, love, and loss through its minimalist approach to storytelling. As a surfer, watching Shigeru's journey from finding a broken surfboard to the tragic end in the ocean he grew to love deeply moved me. Kitano's direction, combined with Hisaishi's lush soundtrack, create a film that stands it's ground without the need of dialogue.
This is truly no ordinary surf film.