Waterboys
High school student Suzuki dreams of becoming a great swimmer, so he joins his school’s swimming club. But he is the only member. That changes suddenly when Mrs Sakuma is appointed—a very attractive swimming instructor. Dozens of boys sign up for the club, until the newcomers discover that she only teaches synchronised swimming. Most of them drop out again, because synchronised swimming is, after all, a girls’ thing. Only Suzuki and four other boys remain. But then Mrs Sakuma goes on maternity leave. The five synchronised swimmers manage to make the most of the lack of a coach in a very inventive way.
This highly entertaining Japanese film by director Shinobu Yaguchi, who also wrote the screenplay himself, is essentially a coming-of-age comedy about friendship and what a secondary school pupil has to face during his school years. Waterboys was such a huge hit in Japan that three television series under the same name were produced in the years that followed.
