A Day At The Beach — A Day At The Beach ( Blu Ray)
A Day At The Beach is an early 70s film regarding a manipulative, devious, at times charming alcoholic, taking a young girl, who is either his niece or daughter, to a rain-washed and seen better days Danish seaside town. The film mixes glum drama, character study, and addiction melodrama, with moments of dark humour, fearful tautness, and grim quirkiness. Here from Powerhouse-both in the UK and stateside- is a Blu-ray reissue of this little-known/ seen film, which features a screenplay penned by none other than Roman Polanski, who also produced the film. And it also features a brief cameo from Peter Sellers.
From the year 1970, A Day At The Beach is an English production- filmed in Denmark, moving between the two port cities of Elsinore and Copenhagen. It was based on Een Dagje Naar Het- a 1962 novel by Dutch writer Heere Heeresma, which was translated by James Brockway with the screenplay penned by Roman Polanski. It was the first film directed by one Simon Hesera- his only other credit is Ben Gurion Remembers (1973)- a documentary regarding the primary national founder and first prime minister of the State of Israel.
The film kicks off one morning, when Berine ( Mark Burns)- a thirty-something man with short curly hair & sunken, grey baggy eyes comes to pick up- Winne ( Beatie Edney)- a milk teeth fallen out, in leg callipers, and a yellow Mack wearing six years old from her parents' apartment. It’s unclear whether Berine is either her uncle or her estranged father.
From the off, it becomes clear Berine is a functioning alcoholic- as we see him stealing, then swigging back two shots of spirits from Winnie's parents' apartment just after he’s arrived.
As the one-hour and twenty-four-minute film unfolds, the pair head to the seaside, walking over the rain-soaked beach, stopping at nearby cafes/ shops, and later bars. They meet a selection of characters on their journey, moving from a female couple who run a beach/ restaurant & somehow insult/ upset Bernie, a duo of gay shopkeepers, one of them played with wonderful campy/ hammy OTT-ness by Peter Sellers. A full of himself amateur poet, his wife and their young son, who appear in a bubble car, and a selection of barkeepers.
Both of the leads are excellent, selling/ making their characters believable/ fleshed out. Initially, Burns comes off as just a selfish and manipulative addict, but in time, we get moments of charm, inventive thinking, and care/ compassion, though as things move on, he puts both Winne and himself at more risk. Edney is a largely positive little girl, who tries to see the best in Berine and the real pretty crappy day out she’s on.
The storyline is kept active/ engaging throughout, and at points, you are generally fearful for Winnie's safety, as things move from the rain-battered and windy beach, on into grey bar-bound afternoons, and stark nighttime.
So, A Day At The Beach is both a compelling drama and character study, with clever touches of dark humour and quirkiness.
This recent Blu-ray release features a 4k scan of the film. This gives clarity and depth to the rain-lashed beaches/ streets, the browns to reds of the bars visited, and the bright yellow of young Winnie’s Mack.
On the extra side, we get two new things- A Country Girl ( 6.03) interview with actress Fiona Lewis, who briefly appears playing Winnie’s mother. She talks about how she first met Polanski, her role in his 1967 gothic/ vampire parody The Fearless Vampire Killers, and of course, the film to hand. She talks about how originally Polanski was meant to direct A Day At The Beach- but for some reason didn’t. We find out they filmed later scenes between her character and the Berine, but these, of course, didn’t make the cut. She says Mark Burns was a nice person, and director Simon Hesera- a friend of Polanski- was quiet and methodical. Next is The Word of an Alcoholic( 14.59) a video essay from Polish film expert Michael Brooke. It regards the friendship between Polanski and Marek Hłasko, author of 1958’s The Noose- one of the great Polish studies of alcoholism. Hłasko informed/influenced Polanski to write the script for A Day At The Beach. Both of these extras are most worthy, though it might have been nice to have had a commentary track on the film itself, detailing locations, cast, discussing other notable alcohol-focused dramas, etc. Though I know it's not always possible/financially viable
On the archive side, we have the following: Dancing Before the Enemy: How a Teenage Boy Fooled the Nazis and Lived( 103 mins) a 2015 documentary portrait of producer Gene Gutowski, directed by his son Adam Bardach, in which he vividly recalls his experiences as a Jewish teenager in Poland during WWII. Behind the Camera: Gil Taylor(12.56) a 1999 documentary by Richard Blanshard on the great cinematographer, featuring interviews with Taylor, Polanski, and filmmaker Anthony Minghella.
The finished release comes with a thirty-six-page booklet featuring a new essay by Michał Oleszczyk, a compilation of trade journal reports on the film’s production, extracts from interviews with director Simon Hesera at the time of the film’s 1993 re-release, an overview of critical responses, and full film credits.
A Day At The Beach truly is a fascinating, if at times troubling and fraught, character study, and a fine addition to the canon of great addiction dramas. It’s wonderful to see Powerhouse reissue the film, with its classy and crisp new 4k scan, and a small but most worthy selection of new/ archive extras.