A Scene at the Sea

If you've ever wondered what a surf movie on Xanax would be like, here you go.

It has a tranquil poetry to it, mixed with very light comedy that makes it like a Tati film. And yes, I cared for the main characters. And the ambiguously tragic ending is moving. But a lot of it is really boring. I understand it's about self-discovery through surfing, but there is WAY too much surfing in this movie, and way too much sitting on the beach. Not quite deep enough for a character study, not quite engaging enough for a meditative piece. Hisaishi's tinkly score gets annoying, too.

Beautiful movie, in a very Japanese way (with mono no aware and wabi-sabi aesthetics). Very sweet couple. Fantastic soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, as always.

I can not explain why this is such a good movie. But it's indeed great, even if I have little idea why.

This is a relaxing watch about a hearing impaired couple who start competing in surf competitions. 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 into the body language of those on screen. It is a little slow plot wise perhaps but I thought it had a nice charm to it and its fun watching the contestants compete at sea. Not the most action packed film, this is still a good, subtle film (with a nice ending).

A.S.A.T.S was Kitano's first departure from the crime genre and established his great partnership with composer Hisaishi, who went on to score all of his best films. It was also more melancholy and sensitive than his previous works, setting the right emotional tone for future films like Hana-Bi and Dolls only without the violence. It is a fairly bleak low key affair about a deaf couple who are marginalised for their disability and low social rank that seems slight but is nonetheless affecting.

Extremely calm and tranquil, a slow but lovely meditative piece on belonging with several excellent scenes and a great set of characters. Downrated slightly because the ending didn’t quite work for me like it did for others.

A 'very nice' movie. Reminded me of Go, Go, Second Time Virgin a little bit. + v cute soundtrack.

It's not going to be for everyone but if you love meditative cinema ohhh boy you'll love it. Amazing music as well.

Surprisingly intriguing even with all this silence and repetition. The ending is both amazing (mostly bolstered by music) and frustrating.

The long steady takes make the film tranquil and mellow, giving it a hypnotizing quality like watching the waves break on the surf. They also make the few comic moment extra deadpan. Meanwhile he wonderful score by Joe Hisaishi make it feel bittersweet en melancholic. Because it features deaf protagonists, the story is very effectively told with very sparse dialogue,

"a drama about outsiders, acceptance and the experience of freedom" / "outsiders and how one finds solace in the company of others" https://asianmoviepulse.com/2022/01/film-review-a-scene-at-the-sea-1991-by-takeshi-kitano/

long visuals does not just make something good, like a gopro video is not a film, neither is this. its a lifeless monotone film with not much added to it apart from the occasional great song. its dragged out to far, and then to top it off it has an awful sudden ending which doesnt amount to anything over then it happened. It is not meditating like the fruitcakes say on the reviews, a more peaceful film is" equals ", this film lacks everything and id rather watch dune or bladerunner

It's kind of like a movie with everything turned all the way down. I'm not sure if that's good or not.

Great