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An Exclusive Interview
with Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
(Part II)
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Koji Yakusho
Cinespot: Let's talk about your regular actor Koji Yakusho. How did you two first know each other? What is special about Mr. Yakusho
that makes you want to work with him over and over again?
Kurosawa: We first worked together in the film Cure. Even before we casted for the film, his name was already floating around often
and I always wanted to work with him. We got along well because he is same age as me, and we talked and hit up immediately. We share similar value
and taste and there are a lot of times that I don't need to explain clearly and he understands what I want and would feel for the character himself.
Moreover, we belong to the same generation, we were young students in the late 70s and our generation is after the politically engaged and before
the otaku generation. We are basically the "in between" generation and we do share certain perspective of the world, that is, we both feel how unstable the future is.
Cinespot: It is interesting that in Tokyo Sonata, you casted him as a small burglar but not the head of the household. Why?
Kurosawa: Actually in the beginning, he was not even supposed to be in this film at all, he was so busy working at that time. But when
the script was done and the cast came together, Yakusho contacted me and said he got three days to spare, he asked if there's still a role for him.
At that time, we only had the role of the burglar, which is a small role, to fill. He agreed to do it and so he became the burglar in the film. And since
we had three days to shoot his scene and we didn't need that much time to shoot that role based on the original script, we decided to expand his role
to what it is now, adding the scene of the wife and the burglar in the beach.
Cinespot: So with that addition, his scenes were still done in three days only?
Kurosawa: Considering the entire film was shot in about 4 weeks, 3 days is quite some time. His part in the original script was very
small and so we expanded it to something bigger.
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Filmmaking
Cinespot: Let's go back to family drama again. How do you see the change of family value in Japan since Ozu's time?
Kurosawa: If you look at Ozu's films in the 50s, you 'd find out that family structure depicted in the film is not very different from now,
instead he is quite ahead of his time. Certainly if you make a comparison, you'd find that the interior designs of the homes and certain appearance
are different, however, the family structure and dynamic are pretty similar and don't show big change since that time. To add one more point,
Ozu's films also have strong female characters (relating to the previous questions about the strong female characters in Tokyo Sonata),
if you look at these characters, the female may still be a step behind the husband in the family, but they turn out to be strong and independent,
like Hara Setsuko's character in Tokyo Story, she is strong and is not afraid to make opinions.
Cinespot: A lot of Asian horror films are remade by Hollywood, including one of your films Pulse. How do you see these remakes?
Kurosawa: I don't' have any issue with remakes, there are many masterpiece of remake in the history of films, and also there are famous novels
being adapted, which is also a kind of remake. I think the thing about remake is that you really have to dig in and find something new to differentiate
itself from the original, or else, why would we need a remake for?
Cinespot: What is your next project going to be?
Kurosawa: I don't have anything concrete at this point, there are few projects I am developing but nothing is final yet. However, it would probably
not be a family drama, nor would it be a horror film. I am looking for some new challenge this time.
Cinespot: Thank you very much for talking to us.
Kurosawa: Thank you.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the interview was very successful. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa was very generous and
answered all of our questions in details. Again, we would like to appreciate director Kurosawa for
sharing his valuable time with us. Please give a round applause to director Kurosawa!
Special thanks to SFIAAFF and Larsen for coordinating and making the interview possible.
Thank you!
Written and compiled by Kantorates
Photograph by Vivian Po
3/2009
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Click here to go back to Part I.
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