A Scene at the Sea (あの夏、いちばん静かな海。, Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi, "That summer, the calmest sea") is a 1991 Japanese drama film written, edited and directed by Takeshi Kitano starring Claude Maki.

A Scene at the Sea
Japanese name
Kanjiあの夏、いちばん静かな海。
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnAno natsu, ichiban shizukana umi
Directed byTakeshi Kitano
Written byTakeshi Kitano
Produced byMasayuki Mori
StarringClaude Maki
Hiroko Ohshima
Sabu Kawahara
Susumu Terajima
Katsuya Koiso
Tetsu Watanabe
CinematographyKatsumi Yanagishima
Edited byTakeshi Kitano
Music byJoe Hisaishi
Production
companies
Office Kitano
Totsu
EnterOne
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • 19 October 1991 (1991-10-19)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguagesJapanese
Japanese Sign Language

Plot

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A deaf garbage collector happens upon a broken and discarded surfboard. The discovery plants in him dreams of becoming a surf champion. Encouraged by his also deaf girlfriend, he persists against all odds.

Production

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This movie was a break from previous Kitano fare in that it features no gangsters or police. However, Kitano did return to darker themes in his next film, Sonatine, as well as many later works. In the film, Kitano develops his more delicate, romantic side along with his trademark deadpan approach. In 2002, the Japanese filmmaker directed a similar movie, Dolls, a romantic tale about three pairs of lovers.

This film marks the first collaboration between Kitano and composer Joe Hisaishi, who had previously created the acclaimed soundtracks of many of Hayao Miyazaki's anime films, including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Hisaishi would go on to compose the soundtracks for all of Kitano's films until Dolls, after which their collaboration ended.

Occasional Office Kitano actor, Claude Maki, who plays the mute main character, went on to appear in Kitano's film Brother as Ken, a Japanese-American punk set to become leader of a yakuza clan. In Brother, Claude speaks mostly in American-English with some occasional Japanese.

Soundtrack

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A Scene at the Sea
Soundtrack album by
Released25 November 1992
LabelToshiba EMI, Milan Records (2001)
Wonderland Records (2001)

The soundtrack CD was originally released on November 25, 1992, by Toshiba EMI; then, re-released many times by Milan Records and Wonderland Records.

  1. "Silent Love (Main Theme)" − 6:52
  2. "Cliffside Waltz I" − 3:58
  3. "Island Song" − 3:39
  4. "Silent Love (In Search of Something)" − 1:10
  5. "Bus Stop" − 5:11
  6. "While at Work" − 1:22
  7. "Cliffside Waltz II" − 3:44
  8. "Solitude" − 1:12
  9. "Melody of Love" − 1:41
  10. "Silent Love (Forever)" − 3:30
  11. "Alone" − 1:04
  12. "Next Is My Turn" − 0:45
  13. "Wave Cruising" − 4:02
  14. "Cliffside Waltz III" − 3:40

References

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