(Original title: キャッチ ア ウェーブ/Catch A Wave)
116 min. / 2006 / 35mm
Taiyo, a 16-year-old high school boy and his two best friends Taguchi and Kobayashi, decide to spend their summer, completely free from their parents, at Taguchi's vacation house in Shonan, a coastal city couple of hours away from Tokyo. When they arrive, they are astounded by the vast expanse of the ocean, and also enthralled by the surfers riding the dynamic waves. When the boys arrive at the vacation house, Taguchi realizes he has dropped the house key at the beach. Panicked, the three go back to the beach looking for it, but eventually fall asleep on the beach exhausted. Next morning, Taiyo and his friends are awakened by a bare-naked middle-aged stranger, Duke Kawahara. Duke offers the boys to stay in his house if they help clean and run his surf shop. Taiyo proposes they would only help if Duke teaches the boys how to surf. Duke agrees. Meanwhile, Taiyo meets a beautiful local surfer girl, Julia while tending Duke's shop. The excitement and thrill of surfing and bitter-sweet first love - Taiyo and his friends' summer have just begun!!
(C) 2006 Catch A Wave ssi.