“Cat People” Paul Schrader aspires to collaborate with foreign artists

Paul Schrader, a lover of Europe and Japan

The movie is set in New Orleans, USA. Due to its history as a French colony and its location near the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, it is an un-American place with a diverse population of ethnic groups. The lead actress, Nastassja Kinski, was born in Germany but also has Russian blood, and was filled with an exotic charm that was lacking in a native American. Paul's co-starring British actor Malcolm McDowell plays an amazing role, Italian composer Giorgio Moroder's score, and the use of David Bowie for the theme song create a multinational and European atmosphere throughout the film. This was Schrader's biggest goal.

Although Paul Schrader is a native American, he has declared that he is greatly influenced by Bertolucci, Robert Bresson, and Ozu, and that he is also close friends with Kazuo Ishiguro. Why did he develop such an unusual personality? The key was the family environment.

"Cat People" (C) 1982 Universal City Studios, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Paul grew up in a very strict Calvinist family, with both of his parents being Christians, and he and his older brother didn't watch movies until they were 17 years old. However, as he grows up and is swallowed up by the waves of society, he gradually regains his sense of normalcy.

The religious values ​​that he had believed in up until now began to crumble, and as he came into contact with the lives of people in the secular world, he developed a uniquely critical spirit toward society. In other words, my daily life was a series of culture shocks. There, a young man who is struggling with his identity accidentally learns of the existence of movies, and immediately becomes absorbed in the world of movies, where he can project himself. He studied under Pauline Kael, who was already a famous film critic at the time, and entered the film department at UCLA. There, he became a full-fledged cinephile and became obsessed with the European and Japanese writers mentioned above.

Also, my older brother was very important to me. His older brother Leonard Schrader similarly rebelled against his parents' discipline and plunged into the world of movies. After The Graduate from university, he worked as a lecturer in Japan for five years, where he became interested in the world of chivalry and co-wrote the screenplay for `` The Yakuza '' (1974) with his younger brother.

Paul Schrader first became involved in film as a critic, then as a screenwriter, and finally made his debut as a director. During that time, he also faced the ambiguity of his position in society, and as a common feature in director Paul Schrader's subsequent screenplays, protagonists struggle between the sublimity of a religious spirit and the worldly world. . In fact, it is a reflection of oneself.

After collaborating with Italian Ferdinando Scarfiotti, she collaborated with Japanese Eiko Ishioka on Mishima – A Life in Four Chapters due to her strong interest in Japanese culture and literature.

Relationship with Nastassja Kinski