The most notable thing about Kei Kumai's 19th century period film, The Sea Is Watching (2002), is that it was based on a screen play adaptation of a novel by Shugoro Yamamoto by the legendary Akira Kurosawa. It seems the film was never produced by Kurosawa due to projected cost of such a historical piece. It is concerned with a house of prostitution that is located near the ocean. In particular it follows the lives of two women in particular: the younger and warm-hearted O-Shin (Nagiko Tono) and Kikuno (Misa Shimizu), the more experienced, and more cynical prostitute. They both have some romantic troubles and when the climax of the film occurs with a massive rainstorm (this IS Kurosawa after all) and high tide floods the area the true mettle of the new suitor is tested as is the resolve of these forgotten women. I was really impressed with the female performances. Overall, there was a bit of melodrama but a pretty satisfying experience at the end.
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