Memories of childhood, family stories, dreams and unfulfilled wishes – all these appearing in contemporary Lithuanian films are related to the sea. It becomes a setting where the past and present, the memory and imagination meet. In Linas Mikuta’s film “Roman’s Childhood” (2020), an eight-year-old boy Romanas with his friend Gytis spend their summer by the sea. Bright, colourful scenes render carelessness of childhood, and the sea signifies a sense of endless freedom, the time when the world seemed to be full of opportunities. A natural beauty of the Baltic Sea and its seaside is used by Vytautas Katkus (“The Visitor”, 2025) to reveal a hero’s transitional state. Danielius (actor Darius Šilėnas) returns to the place which is connected to his past, but he feels like an alien there. After he falls asleep, he immerses himself in another reality: the sea, where a strange island with a growing apple tree floats around. This repetitive imagery seemingly erases boundaries between dream and reality, enhancing a sense of inner uncertainty. A similar manner to view the past is also employed by characters in Kristijonas Vildžiūnas’s film “Seneca’s Day” (2016); they belong to the so-called ‘lost generation’ who used to have youthful dreams, but they forgot about them. Simonas (actor Dainius Gavenonis) is trapped in the present and keeps returning in his thoughts to the past, trying to understand where the euphoria, expectations and plans for the future that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union have gone. In the film, the sea becomes a metaphor for lost opportunities, allowing reflection on the disappointment of an entire generation and an escape from reality.

Quotes  

“The sea, the summer, the holidays – all these naturally associate with childhood. However, it also seems that we have been on holiday a long time ago or simply were not alone with our thoughts, didn’t get any rest. That’s exactly what I wanted to show: it’s not that the holiday is compulsory, but rather that it is a must to stay alone with one’s own thoughts, and that is very important for everyone.” (Vytautas Katkus, see: https://www.bernardinai.lt/rezisierius-v-katkus-apie-filma-svecias-nereikia-ziurovams-nurodineti-kada-liudeti-o-kada-dziaugtis/)

“It is said that the sea appearing in dreams symbolises life; however, in the film “Seneca’s Day”, it becomes the symbol of death because the main character is afraid of life, tries to hide from it inside his own shell.” (Kristijonas Vildžiūnas)
“The sea is a specific boundary, an edge which can mean both end and beginning at the same time. It is risk, danger and also cosmos full of opportunities, wonderful things.” (Linas Mikuta)