A Scene at the Sea

A Scene at the Sea
Japanese name
Kanji	あの夏、いちばん静かな海。
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Ano natsu, ichiban shizukana umi
Directed by	Takeshi Kitano
Written by	Takeshi Kitano
Produced by	Masayuki Mori
Starring	Claude Maki Hiroko Ohshima Sabu Kawahara Susumu Terajima Katsuya Koiso Tetsu Watanabe
Cinematography	Katsumi Yanagishima
Edited by	Takeshi Kitano
Music by	Joe Hisaishi
Production companies	Office Kitano Totsu EnterOne
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	19 October 1991 (1991-10-19)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	Japan
Languages	Japanese Japanese Sign Language

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.

Plot

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

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

A Scene at the Sea
Soundtrack album by Joe Hisaishi
Released	25 November 1992
Label	Toshiba 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

External links

• A Scene at the Sea at IMDb
• A Scene at the Sea at AllMovie