User reviews

...this movie is very good directed. The shots, the color palette and the music(or lack off)interacting with the Sea s sound on and off are all items precisely crafted here making ordinary looks naturally. Yes, is a "suave" ongoing story, that in reality is more than one at the same time; however, the plot is not too focused in all these other potential stories, but for the wiser watcher, are all there: love stories (though love is not strong enough);growing; the economic problems in small towns; migration; lack of youth with enough guts to take control of these areas; struggling businesses; stubborn people et all.

All that occur in a lovely little vacation town besides the Sea.

"There Is No Lid on the Sea" tells the story of Mari, a young woman that decides to give up her job in Tokyo and go back to her hometown, where she opens a little cafe selling 'kakigōri', a Japanese dessert made with shaved ice, syrup and sweetener. She gets the help of Hajime, a young woman who is staying with Mari's family for a short period.

"There Is No Lid on the Sea" keeps all very simple and cozy. Mari, played with security by Akiko Kikuchi, is an interesting character, who suffers from remembering the past through a rose-tinted patina, all things better then than now. The movie, directed with little flash by Keisuke Toyoshima, is a naive and innocent look on the change that happens to little towns and cities when their inhabitants decide to move to the bigger cities, dying little by little (a situation that in some parts of Japan, as the one represented in the movie, has put a huge economic and demographic pressure on these places).

In the end, the movie is about the need to accept change, the little dreams humans have and about accepting that going back to your roots doesn't mean you have failed in life. Its simplicity is part of its charm, but at the same time keeps it from being anything special.

I watch mostly Asian movies. Seldom I find any English language movies with any depth or worthwhile. Most Hollywood shows these days pay more attention to political correctness and social activism than art of story telling. Unfortunately this shallow disease is infecting Japanese cinema, and this movie is a victim.

The main character is two dimensional and utterly self centered you tend to dislike. Why would anyone wants to stick around her I don't know.

I found the show so bad, I could not finish the movie.

The story is forgettable and shallow. Don't waste your time.