Reflections on the Japanese film "That Summer, the Calm Sea"

This is an old film made by Kitano Takeshi in 199 1. It is a romantic literary film with slow pace and simple scenes and characters. It is very suitable for audiences who like to relax and experience slow life, while those who like to watch action and war movies will feel bland.

The whole movie is about the pure love of two Japanese deaf-mute male and female friends and the boy's love for surfing. There is little dialogue, and pen and ink are all capturing the expressions, walking and surfing movements of the characters. Japanese films are good at depicting the inner desires and emotional fluctuations of ordinary people through simple and plain life scenes. The contrast between a calm life on the surface and inner passion is like an undercurrent under a calm sea. The "Little Forest" series I saw before is also in this style. The photographic pictures of Japanese movies are also relatively clean and not messy, which I appreciate more.

Not long after the film started shooting, I predicted that the ending would be sad and beautiful. My husband loves to watch European and American blockbusters and doesn't believe it, because the protagonist of European and American blockbusters has a strong aura. Whether it's bullets, snakes and beasts, ships and planes, handsome guys and beautiful women can always stand to the end. However, Japanese movies and TV shows just prefer the beauty of defects and turning points. For example, the famous ukiyo-e painting in surfing in Kanagawa in the19th century depicts several fishing boats struggling to survive in stormy waves, but it is small and unpredictable.

Some people say that this kind of fatalistic film aesthetic is because Japan is an island country, its ecology is more fragile than that of the mainland, and it is in an earthquake zone. Since ancient times, wars have been frequent, so people can easily feel the fragility of life. The more they feel the fragility of life, the more they want to grasp and sigh the short-lived beauty, so they praise the fleeting beauty of cherry blossoms. On the other hand, in the shadow of insecurity, in order to seek comfort, the Japanese are deeply influenced by the primitive religion that believes in animism, believing that no matter stones, trees, fish and birds, they can hear prayers and provide companionship, so the film pays great attention to depicting the relationship between people and natural environments such as mountains, seas and trees. This explanation is reasonable, because the so-called one side of the soil and water nourishes the other side, and historical geography does affect cultural thoughts, including aesthetics.