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The Sea is Watching, 2002

Starring: Misa Shimizu, Nagiko Tono, Masatoshi Nagase, Hidetaka Yoshioka

Directed by: Kei Kumai

Written by: Akira Kurosawa

Language: Japanese

Country: Japan

Runtime: 119 min

MPAA Rating: R

Rating:6.9

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The Sea is Watching can be described as bittersweet, contemplative, and gloomy. The plot revolves around social relations, falling in love, and friendship. The main genres are drama, foreign, and romance. In approach, The Sea is Watching is serious and realistic. The storytelling is slow paced. It is set, at least in part, in a village. The Sea is Watching is located in Japan. It takes place in contemporary times. Note that it involves sexual content.

Summary of The Sea is Watching

Based on a screenplay by the late filmmaking legend Akira Kurosawa, Kei Kumai's The Sea is Watching follows the lives of women residing and working at a brothel in Edo-era Japan. Amidst the daily rountines of tea and gossip, the ladies of the Ashi No Ya house, inevitably get emotionally involved with their clients. Young, naïve O-Shin (Nagiko Tohno) falls for an inexperienced samurai, even though he is from a higher social class. Meanwhile, her big-sister figure, Kikuno (Misa Shimizu), has both a thuggish boyfriend and a kind, older man vying for her affections. Eventually, Ryosuke (Masatoshi Nagase), a troubled wanderer, visits the brothel, and he forms an unlikely connection with O-Shin--one that may have a lasting effect on her life.

Filmed entirely on a set that recreates pre-20th-century Japanese village life, The Sea is Watching focuses on the brothel and its denizens with a tight lens. Although the actors turn in fine performances, the real stars of the show are the costumes and sets, which recall an era of Japanese history that few contemporary films touch on. Surprisingly romantic, this tribute to Kurosawa is an enjoyable outing, strengthed by Kumai's vivid vision of the past.

Details

Language:	Japanese
Country:	Japan
Release date:	5 June 2003
Runtime:	119 min

Cast and Crew See all

Misa Shimizu

as Kikuno

Nagiko Tono

as Oshin

Masatoshi Nagase

as Ryosuke

Hidetaka Yoshioka

as Fusanosuke

Photos See all

The Sea is Watching (2002)

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The Sea is Watching: Theatrical

Critics Reviews See all

TV Guide

Not just an engaging melodrama that explores the class conflict and sexual mores of feudal Japan, but a work of extraordinary beauty; you could literally hang any random frame on the wall and call it art. No doubt the master would have been pleased. Full Review

|
by: Ken Fox

The New York Times

Fortunately, Mr. Kumai, who himself has shown no aversion to baroque melodrama, leans here toward a plain and direct style that is tasteful and intelligent, a boon, given the predictability of the story. He understands the difference between... Full Review

|
by: A.O. Scott

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