A Day at the Beach

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• 1984
• 1 hr 25 mins
• Comedy, Drama

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His drinking has separated Bernd from society. His days are filled with idleness. Full of quasi-intellectual wisdom, he bores his fellow man. Because the context of these wisdoms is not always evident, they mainly embody the lonely madness in which the protagonist finds himself. In short, Bernd is an anarchist maverick, who goes through life unhindered by any responsibility or regulation. From that background he decides on a rainy, hangover day to take his supposed daughter Walijne (Tara Fallaux) to the beach of Scheveningen. The slightly disabled girl lives with her mother Medusa (Helen Hedy) and her new boyfriend Carl (Emile Fallaux). When they need a nanny, all they can do is ask Bernd to take the girl under his wing for the day. Once on the beach he takes good care of Walijne, until the drink again takes its toll. In her childhood innocence, Walijne initially looks up to the man, but when he repeatedly loses the girl, Bernd risks that affection. However, the sad and lonely alcoholic continues to drink hard, near to destruction. The fact that "A day at the beach" does not become an excessively tragic drama is due to the ironic nature of the film. It is an irony that rubs against the absurd. Bernd's encounters with other beach and café visitors are far from everyday. The matching piano music also contributes to that atmosphere. It keeps the film delicious and the attention for the increasingly unfriendly Bernd intact.