Takeshi Kitano -- who, along with directing some of the most acclaimed films of the 1990s, appears on four television shows, writes a number of newspaper columns, and somehow finds the time to crank out a book or two a year -- takes a break from his trademark two-fisted yakuza sagas such as Violent Cop to spin this restrained and very quiet drama about a deaf young man named Shigeru (Kurodo Maki) and his girlfriend, Takako (Hiroko Oshima). Shigeru, a garbage collector, happens upon a discarded surfboard, which begins his fascination with the sea.~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide