MartinHafer This film, as you'll read on IMDb, was misplaced for many years and was only recently discovered. It is perhaps because it was rather unceremoniously released on DVD that would account for no closed captioning or DVD captions--a problem if you are hearing impaired. And, in addition, there are no special features--just a reasonably high quality print of the movie.As for the film, it's only the sort of movie a film snob would enjoy. People who go into raptures when they hear the word 'Polanski' will no doubt watch this film, whereas those who don't recognize him or only think of him as a dirty old man will likely never see this unimposing piece in the first place. Plus, it isn't exactly a pleasant film and is the sort of thing few non-devotees would chose in the first place. It takes a very unusual person to seek out this film. I picked it only because it featured a strange cameo by Peter Sellers as a very flamboyant gay man--and I'd watch anything with Sellers in it (though I must admit that his films vary tremendously in quality--particularly late in his career)."A Day at the Beach" is a rather grim and simple tale of an incredibly irresponsible jerk who takes his niece for a day. While this little girl idolizes him, he's obviously an alcoholic, deals with underworld types, is a habitual liar and has few, if any, qualities you can admire. He seems like a great portrait of a sociopath--a very unambitious and weasel-like sociopath. And, oddly, unlike a normal film, there doesn't appear to be much of a plot--just a rambling series of events and encounters on a rainy day by the sea. The uncle loses the girl repeatedly, cheats many people, drinks a lot and only seems to sporadically care about his young charge. In his own weird way, he does care--but he's very, very, very limited in this and every other respect.Overall, the film is well acted and well made...but also thoroughly unpleasant and difficult to enjoy. While not as unpleasant as films like "Leaving Las Vegas" or "Faces of Death", it is hard to watch and is rewarding only to a small and very select audience. As for me, I just wanted to see more Peter Sellers and just wanted the film to end after a while--it was like watching a very slow-motion train wreck.By the way, regardless of what you'll think of the thing, you have to admire the perseverance of the actors on such a grueling shoot. Every second of it is wet, wet, wet! It's pretty sad, then, that this piece sat on the shelves for so long--Mark Burns and Beatie Edney, among others, went through hell for this movie and they must have had to have fought illness and mold as a result of the almost constant wetness they endured. And actually, while I think about it, I am surprised that anyone would allow or subject a young child to such shooting conditions.By the way, I was really confused as all the main actors seemed to be Brits but it was obviously filmed in Scandinavia. It is a bit odd.

alain abehsera I recently had a look at the comments about this film. I am rather amazed that all of them attribute this movie to Roman Polanski. As IMDb writes it, this movie was directed by Simon Hesera, my late brother, and not Roman Polanski. It was his first major feature movie, saluted as a masterpiece by movie critics or other directors (such as Michelangelo Antonioni). Time has gone by, and for some unknown reason, in spite of the fact that Polanski is only mentioned as the one who adapted the story to the screen, the name of the director was skipped and the movie added to Polanski's curriculum. I was 17 years old and remember well the time when this film was made. Polanski, Peter Sellers and my late brother were all good friends and the movie was made "between friends". The story goes that my brother was given, with this sad movie and its tragic subject, a difficult first chance at directing a movie. Had he been given another subject, happier, funnier or more commercial, he would have made a hit and started a popular career as director, no less than Polanski's, who recognized my brother's genius.

christopher-underwood Being a great fan of European cinema in the early 60s, I loved Polanski's, Knife in the Water, Repulsion and Cul-de-Sac but was initially very disappointed with the full on colour film, Rosemary's Baby. Having now seen the most impressive A Day At The Beach which should have been released before Rosemary's Baby, I would certainly have been happier back then if the order of release had not been so drastically changed by circumstances. This great little film is much more akin to the director's early b/w features, although this is in colour, and is bleak indeed. Seemingly shot in a single day in the pouring rain on some desolate Danish beach we spend some time with a little girl and her 'uncle' who spends most of the time trying to get another drink. Despicable, though the lead often appears, there is an palpable bond between the two and it is quite startling that when others try to relate to the child, our hero seems peerless. Fascinating, dark and with a brilliant performance from the young girl, this also has some surprisingly horrific sequences (not counting the true horror of Graham Stark as some horrible underling of a gay Peter sellers!). Well worth searching out.

gpanderson I saw this film at Pacific Cinematheque in Vancouver around 1994/95. The lead character is a pathetic drunk who takes his daughter for a day out. I believe it is set in a Danish seaside town. Certainly northern European of some sort. It is a series of episodes in a search for drinks, and the little girl ends up having to rescue her drunk dad. An allegory of life and the parent/ child relationship, perhaps. Peter Sellers is hilarious as a homosexual stall keeper. The atmosphere is relentlessly bleak, dark, ominous, and finally it rains. Could be depressing if the viewer has a family member similarly afflicted by alcoholism. Too bad it is not available. Would love to see it again.