The Sea Is Watching (2002) [Film Review]

The Sea Is Watching; or, The Measure of Love
     Misfortune added to misfortune only doubles the misery.
The Sea Is Watching is yet another Akira Kurosawa’s project that did not see its realisation before the director’s death. As a result, it was made as a tribute to Kurosawa after his passing. I have been meaning to watch the movie together with After the Rain (1999), but somehow something kept coming up and I kept forgetting about it. Thankfully, I finally managed to check it out and I share my thoughts on the film.

Release Info

Directed by: Kei Kumai Starring: Nagiko Tono, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masatoshi Nagase

Language: Japanese Original Title: 海は見ていた Runtime: 119 min

Synopsis
Japan, 19th century. Oshin (Nagiko Tono) works as a prostitute. She lives in a house inhabited by other ladies for company. One day, a samurai named Fusanosuke (Hidetaka Yoshioka) arrives in a house looking for safety after injuring a man in a fight. Oshin shelters Fusanosuke and falls in love with him. Unfortunately, the samurai breaks her heart by marrying somebody else. Then, Oshin meets a wanderer Ryosuke (Masatoshi Nagase).

Distant Stillness
Maybe it’s an insane wall of expectations from myself, but I think that The Sea Is Watching is an inferior film when compared to After the Rain. Indeed, both have the spirit and charm of Akira Kurosawa, yet the story of The Sea Is Watching feels so out of place from the director’s dramatic repertoire. All in all, the centre focus of the script is a prostitute with romantic feelings.

Come to think of it, if I hadn't known anything about the film, I would have assumed it was crafted by Nobuhiko Obayashi because of the female-oriented plot, traditional Japan setting, rich colour palette, and a touch of violence. That being said, we know Kurosawa is the one who wrote the script and director Kei Kumai did the directorial chores, and he pulled off the job in a satisfactory way.

While watching the film, I really sympathised with the difficult plight of Oshin, but at the same time, I thought her profession is overly romanticised in the film. Oshin’s professional friends are wholeheartedly supportive of the main heroine while dealing with their own share of toxic relationships. To be honest, all of the them function like remixed variations of Cinderella waiting to be saved and there is no Cruella de Vil in sight to stir things up for Oshin.

Still again, Kurosawa’s story is very poignant and it highlights the unpredictability as well as the sad uncertainty of life. You invest yourself emotionally into another person only to discover that this person does not understand you at all.

With regard to performances, Nagiko Tono played Oshin beautifully and it makes me all the more surprised that this actress did not have greater gigs in historical dramas. Super young Hidetaka Yoshioka convincingly portrays a scared samurai, whereas Masatashi Nagase does a great job as a disillusioned and pitiful loner. A word of mention also goes to Misa Shimizu who portrayed Kikuno.

Recommendations
I won’t write “if you like Kurosawa, then…” Just watch The Sea Is Watching and judge for yourselves if you sense the cinematic master’s vibe. It’s a well made slice-of-life tale, but After the Rain resonated better with me.
Overall score: 6/10

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