Tomomi Mochizuki’s “Ocean Waves” isn’t exactly a film to create many waves, in that it’s a fairly minimal piece, though it did represent something of a shift for the great Studio Ghibli in how they worked, and indeed who worked.
Taku, our narrator, takes a look back over his schooldays in sleepy seaside town Kochi. He lives a simple life: his best friend Yutaka; working as a busboy in a restaurant. Something of an agony uncle, he is a laid-back, easy-going guy who everyone seems to get along with.
Enter Rikako, a newly transferred student from Tokyo who brings with her a big city attitude. Immediately, Yutaka takes a shine to her, though the other girls mostly dislike her. On a school trip to Hawaii, she approaches Taku for help with money – his having a job and being a go-to guy make him appear someone she can depend on.
Taku’s helping her, however, sets off a chain of events that break his friendships and seemingly impact on every aspect of his life, while he stands by clueless. Cut to the present and they’re all away at university and a reunion sees some wiser heads, with Taku wondering if the big city girl who changed the course of his life will make an appearance.
This is a very gentle ocean, with the air, subject matter and soundtrack all heavy on the light. A made-for-TV movie, this was also Ghibli’s first film not to be directed by Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, made by an all-round younger team. But, it’s clear the influence of the masters is felt, with the same attention to detail present throughout every frame. But a high school drama, this lacks some of the depth and seriousness the founders would bring.
But with less fantasy, alongside Takahata’s “Only Yesterday”, this is the most realistic Ghibli production, focusing on everyday trivialities. Combined with the detail put into creating both Kochi and the excursion to Tokyo, one wonders if this needed to be an anime at all, seeming perfect for a made-for-TV live action drama.
But Mochizuki makes good use of the form despite this, and the use of Ozu-esque pillow shots work nicely between scenes; their framing giving them a picture-postcard trip down memory lane and sense of whimsy the film evokes throughout.
Based on Saeko Himura’s novel, this certainly highlights the general idiotic behaviour of teenagers and how much of it is to be looked back on with a wince. Rikako is typically selfish, expecting people to revolve around her and go along with her plans, despite what efforts it means they have to go to. Yutaka is jealous of the girl he likes having any sort of involvement with another male, feeling he is her protector in his own mind. And Taku is the trapped in the middle fool wondering how on Earth he got there.
The realism will make you dislike all the characters, but also make you remember what those days were like and sympathise, as well as be glad you will never have to be a teenager again.
“Ocean Waves” is what it is in the Ghibli filmography, in that it’s a TV movie made by a lesser-known director. The Ghibli names probably both helps and hinders it in that the name will bring with it expectations, but will also grant it exposure. But watching it for what it is will allow you to have a gentle and relaxing trip down memory lane which will see you experience the range of emotions of teenage angst. Though this time without the regret.
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