SYNOPSIS

Mari leaves the city to return to her hometown.
 There, she meets a troubled burn victim, Hajime.
 Together, two girls find new life in a dying town.
 Missing her hometown by the coast, Mari quits her job in the city and returns home to start a business making shave ice, a dessert she loves. One day, she finds herself taking in a spiritually and physically wounded young woman named Hajime, who has burn marks on her face and has recently lost her beloved grandmother. Mari takes Hajime on to help with the shop, but opens to very few customers. Mari senses a growing rift between her and the locals who have watched their town’s fortunes sour. This summer story is about two girls looking for a fresh start.
 

PROGRAM NOTE

In this film, there are many elements similar to
 those so-called Japanese \'healing cinema\' which
 has gotten popular since the 2000s in Korea: an
 escape to the hometown from the exhausting city
 life, a lover-turned-friend, a cafe beside the beach, a
 rather monotonous shaved ice carrying out the cafe
 master\'s resolution (which does not necessarily suit
 customers\' preference or timlely trends), a reserved
 freind in the process of healing her own wounds, a
 unfamiliar place inciting hunger for travel etc. What is
 missing in this film, however, is the optimistic mood,
 and thus there is no whatsoever definite sense to
 healing. The sea in There Is No Lid on the Sea is
 neither quiet nor vibrant, and neither clean nor much
 contaminated. It is a sea which gives us feeling of
 uncertainty and vagueness; anxiety and ominousness
 are scattered all over the film. The film opens with
 the frontal face of Mari, a face that looks tired and
 helpless. Osamu leaves the hometown in despair and
 anger over his failure, and Hajime jumps into the sea
 for the last time before she goes off to Africa only to
 get stung by jellyfishes. Nonetheless, Hajime leaves
 for Africa, and the cafe is taken care of by Mari. The
 only agreement she reaches after all is to add a
 strawberry shaved ice on the menu. While this film
 does not attempt to defy any hope for escape and
 healing, it does not adopt an overly optimistic attitude
 at the same time. [HWANG Miyojo]