is a 1991

Japanese films of 1991

A list of films released in Japan in 1991 .-1991:-External links:* at the Internet Movie Database...

 Japanese film

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 written and directed by Takeshi Kitano

Takeshi Kitano

is a Japanese filmmaker, comedian, singer, actor, film editor, presenter, screenwriter, author, poet, painter, and one-time video game designer who has received critical acclaim, both in his native Japan and abroad, for his highly idiosyncratic cinematic work. The famed Japanese film critic...

.

This movie was a break from previous Kitano fare in that it features no gangsters or police. However, Kitano did return to more violent storylines in his subsequent film, Sonatine

Sonatine

is a 1993 Japanese film by Japanese filmmaker Takeshi Kitano. It won numerous awards and became one of Kitano's most successful and praised films, garnering him a sizable international fan base.-Plot:Kitano plays Murakawa, a Tokyo yakuza tiring of gangster life...

.

The movie presents a simple story about a deaf garbage collector, played by Claude Maki

Claude Maki

is a Japanese surfing champion, actor and hip hop singer, under the stage name A.K.T.I.O.N., from Tokyo Akasaka. He is the eldest son of actor and singer Mike Maki. His mother is , an American-Japanese actress.-Biography:...

, who is determined to learn how to surf

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

—and does so almost at the expense of the girl he loves.

In the film, Kitano develops his more delicate, romantic side along with his trademark deadpan approach. In 2002 the Japanese filmmaker directed a similar movie, Dolls

Dolls (film)

is a 2002 Japanese film written, edited and directed by Japanese director Takeshi Kitano. A highly stylized art film, Dolls is part of Kitano's non-crime film oeuvre, like 1991's A Scene at the Sea, and unlike most of his other films, he does not act in it...

, a romantic tale about three pairs of lovers.

Occasional Office Kitano

Office Kitano

Office Kitano is a Japanese talent management and film production company founded and managed by Takeshi Kitano. It launched the Tokyo Filmex in 2000....

 actor, Claude Maki, who plays the mute main character, went on to appear in Kitano's film Brother

Brother (2000 film)

All compositions by Joe Hisaishi.#"Drifter... in LAX"#"Solitude"#"Tattoo"#"Death Spiral"#"Party "#"On the Shore"#"Blood Brother"#"Raging Men"#"Beyond the Control"#"Wipe Out"#"Liberation from the Death"#"I Love You, Aniki"#"Ballade"...

as Ken, a Japanese-American punk set to become leader of a Yakuza

Yakuza

, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...

 clan. In Brother, Claude speaks mostly in American-English with some occasional Japanese.

This film marks the first collaboration between Kitano and composer Joe Hisaishi

Joe Hisaishi

, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...

, who had previously created the acclaimed soundtracks of many of Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki

is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...

's anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Hisaishi would go on to compose the OSTs

Soundtrack

A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...

 for all of Kitano's films until Dolls, after which their collaboration ended.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack CD was originally released on November 25, 1992 by Toshiba EMI; then, re-released many times by Milan Records

Milan Records

Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan boasts an extensive electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases....

 and Wonderland Records.

1. "Silent Love (Main Theme)" 6:52
2. "Cliffside Waltz I" 3:58
3. "Island Song" 3:39
4. "Silent Love (In Search of Something)" 1:10
5. "Bus Stop" 5:11
6. "While At Work "1:22
7. "Cliffside Waltz II" 3:44
8. "Solitude" 1:12
9. "Melody of Love" 1:41
10. "Silent Love (Forever)" 3:30
11. "Alone" 1:04
12. "Next Is My Turn" 0:45
13. "Wave Cruising" 4:02
14. "Cliffside Waltz III" 3:40

External links