Review of The Sea Is Watching (2002) by John C — 02 Feb 2004

[font=Arial]Set in mid-19th century [/font][font=Arial]Japan[/font][font=Arial], ?The Sea is Watching? tells the story of two Japanese prostitutes working in a village brothel. In Japanese society, as well as most societies, prostitutes are virtually the lowest workers on the social ladder. The two women dream of better lives (one more idealistically than the other) but due to the Japanese cast system they are almost doomed from the start. The main character, O-Shin, routinely falls in love with her clients, perhaps dreaming of the life that they can make for her. She is almost always disappointed (especially when a young samurai stumbles into the brothel and befriends O-Shin) but still she remains optimistic. The other main character, Kikuno, is a little to more wise to the world but instead of dreaming of a better life, instead conjures up a fantasy life in which she attempts to convince others is reality. Needless to say a truly happy ending is not in the cards here, but the both characters are left to realize their destines at the end of the film. [/font].

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[font=Arial]I can?t say that this film was great but it wasn?t bad either. The film was well acted and the it was beautifully shot. But I couldn?t help but wonder if the movie could have been better written and the story lines made a little crisper. Also, the pace of the movie could have been better ? it was a little slow at points. Not bad but not great.[/font].