The Sea is Watching Review
Diverse personalities are found among the women living and
working in The Sea is Watching's Samurai era brothel.
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The Sea is Watching was adapted from a novel by Shugoro Yamamoto, but the film script was written by the legendary Akira Kurosawa which raises many questions right away. The answer to the first question concerning why Kurosawa did not direct it is simply that he passed away.
I do not know the answer to question number two, “Would Kurosawa have actually gone ahead and made this movie without significant rewrites?”
And question number three, “How exactly might this film have been different as a result of Kurosawa directing?” is impossible to answer.
The movie lacks a bit of cohesiveness, and in this case I don't think the blame can all be put in the lap of director Kei Kumai. The story is noticeably disjointed, though it was interesting to watch in some scenes.
In an accompanying documentary on the DVD there seems to be a desperate attempt to connect this movie to Kurosawa as much as possible by indicating how precisely Kurosawa’s production planning notes were followed.
Oshin, played by Nagiko Tono, chooses the wrong man to invest her emotions with.
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If Kurosawa had been able to make this film, he would have certainly refined it throughout the production process and crafted a very different movie. It cannot be certain that the resulting product would have been better, but it can be certain it would be something different simply as a result of having a different chef in the kitchen.
Unfortunately the film’s director Kumai may have felt compelled or perhaps he was even commanded by the producers to follow Kurosawa’s story and notes to the letter. The producers may have felt that would be a good selling point. There is boasting in the documentary of how intently they followed Kurosawa’s plans. But even Kurosawa would not have adhered to everything precisely as production approached and shooting began.
A large part of what makes a good movie (and I think most producers and directors would agree) is the ability to evolve and adapt during the production process. I would be concerned about the end result if someone took my script for Savage Snow right now and shot it word for word without adapting to the needs of the film as production moved forward.
This is all speculation on my part. I do not know what might have been or what exactly took place in the production of The Sea is Watching. The claims of following Kurosawa’s notes to the extreme might just be marketing hooey anyway. One thing is definitely certain; the Sea is Watching does not "feel" like a Kurosawa film.
The always lovely Misa Shimizu as Kikuno in The Sea is Watching. Don't be misled by
this slightly provocative image; The Sea is Watching has no significant erotic content.
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Sucker for Sweet Females
Though I can be a sucker for a Japanese film with an ultra-sweet sympathetic female lead, the story in The Sea is Watching was simply a little too soap opera-ish for me and I am sure some viewers will find it surprising that this adapted story came from the mind of Akira Kurosawa.
Others have speculated that Kurosawa wrote this film to answer some critics’ charges that he lacked skill in telling stories from the perspective of female characters. I doubt that was Kurosawa’s motivation, but this is definitely a woman’s tale.
There are some very well done scenes in the movie, and if an inside view of what life might have been like in a Samurai era Japanese brothel is enticing to you, then you may not regret picking this DVD up for future viewing. And if you are curious about this movie’s connection to Kurosawa, it may be of more interest to you personally. This is not an unwatchable film. It is interesting and entertaining in several scenes, but it is also far from a masterpiece.
Because Kurosawa did not direct The Sea is Watching and obviously did not have the opportunity to refine the project as he might have during production, this film is unlikely to be remembered as a major film in Akira Kurosawa's history.
Postcard perfect image of Misa Shimizu and Nagiko Tono from a striking scene found near the end of The Sea is Watching, but it may also be a bit too synthetic and incongruous.
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Savage Japan Misc. Tidbit
The ending for The Sea is Watching was shot with a green screen for additional dramatic effect for a conclusion that was already over the top and a little manipulative for my taste. I thought it was odd to staple such an obviously artificial visual on the end of the film. Though beautiful, the night sky shots were too distracting for me because of their noticeably synthetic creation which seemed visually out of step with the rest of the movie.
For Japanese Language Students
I was definitely able to enjoy working on my Japanese listening comprehension skills while watching The Sea is Watching, but this movie will not have the broad appeal of other films reviewed here, possibly making it less pleasant to endure for some Japanese language students.
Also, because of the time period the story is set in, the characters may not be using what would be thought of as modern Japanese in some scenes. I limited the listening comprehension practice rating to "Fairly Good" for this film.
Dan Savage
Dan@SavageSnow.com
