This movie is probably not going to be for everyone.
Oh dear. I’m sorry to have to be that guy but when it comes to A Scene at the Sea, “everyone” includes me. The stylistic things that mesmerized Melvil about this film were, for me, a problem.
minimalist... lots of still shots... sparse compositions... deadpan performances... the pace is very slow and deliberate... lingering...
That’s a bang on description of the style. You either like it or you don’t, so there’s no point in my railing agianst it. Instead, accepting the film for what it is, I’ll offer up a few criticisms (general comments really) I think are still valid.
The relationship between Shigero & Takako was a hard one to accept. I kept asking myself, what does she see in this guy? Granted there’s a pretty unique connection being that they’re both deaf, but even so. He’s constantly sullen and shows her almost no affection (if she can get his attention at all). Yet she dotes on him... worships him almost. I suppose there’s a history there we don’t know about (the ending suggests it in flashback I believe) but I’m just confused as to how I am supposed to feel about the relationship... and more importantly what I’m supposed to have taken away from it. I guess that’s probably not the way to look at it though. It’s not a message movie after all, you take away what you take away. What I was really looking for was something to endear me to the couple and get me emotionally involved in thier story.
I think it’s fair to say the periphery characters were rather goofy in nature. They were valuable insofar as they added definition to an otherwise uniform experience (to take them out would be like a book with no puncuation), but outside of that I’m not sure what they added. Maybe that’s enough.
The way people behaved in the film didn’t feel authentic. Better than casting a bunch of your buddies, but not up to reasonable acting standards either. I think Shigeru was the only character who felt confident in his movements. But it was more than the acting that felt wrong... just the characters basic behaviors seemed odd... sometimes defying basic logic. In many cases it’s clearly done for humour, but other times I just had to shake my head and wonder what on earth they were thinking.
Wipeout
A gangster movie, and check out the soundtrack:
The Box Tops - The Letter
Chubby Checker - Let’s Twist Again
The Searchers - Love Potion No.9
Tommy James and The Shondells - Hanky Panky
Sam The Sham & The Pharoahs - Wooly Bully
I don’t think Scorcese’s influence on the style, themes, and characters of this film could be any more prominent.
It’s really just pilfering though. A shot here, a song there... scraps from the master’s table. It’s all for naught because when you cobble it together with the rest of the amateurish film-making it’s akin to adding a few granules of sugar to a cup of tea. Hardly enough to change the flavour.
Worm’s review is also bang on. Generally bland with one curious relationship that you may or may not find interesting. It reminded me a little of the Damon/Norton duo in Rounders... one with a pretty good head on his shoulders, the other with a crooked streak that constantly gets him in trouble. You think they should go their separate ways but something keeps bringing that back together. By the end of rising sun I'm not sure I ever really learned what that is...
I didn’t enjoy City of the Rising Sun. It’s boring, I’ve seen it all before, and it’s not techinically impressive. A Scene at the Sea I didn’t connect with on a fundamental level. Being that both films failed to do anything for me I guess it’s good bracket etiquette to defer to the previous verdicts rather than try and quantify which film I liked less (actually, that’s a nice option to have). Worm didn’t much like Rising Sun while Melvil developed deep appreciation for A Scene at the Sea. I have no problem seeing A Scene at the Sea move on to round 3. Let it be so!