"Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence" Nagisa Oshima x David Bowie x Beat Takeshi x Ryuichi Sakamoto The path to the realization of a unique war movie - Part 2

New Zealand location aimed at tax avoidance

In December 1981, Jeremy came to Japan for the Japan release campaign for Jealousy, and we held a meeting. When Oshima showed him the photos from the location scouting in the Philippines, he unexpectedly suggested that they shoot in Australia. Jeremy, who already has experience filming in the area, cited the advantage of being able to shoot in locations that look like Java and South Africa, just by traveling within the country. Oshima agreed, and consideration began to be given to filming in Australia, but it was decided that funding would not be available in England.

Just when it seemed like production would be canceled, Jeremy and Terry suggested using a tax shelter to raise funds in Australia or New Zealand. ``If you shoot locally using local filming equipment and staff, you will receive a subsidy, and if an investor invests in the film, that money will receive tax benefits.'' In other words , it becomes a tax avoidance (tax shelter).

Investors appeared from both countries, but Oshima was unsure of his decision. "Money has a lot of different characteristics... There are strange brokers involved, and all sorts of other things. So, overall, I came to the conclusion that New Zealand money seems to be better." ("Image Forum" October 1982 issue).

If a tax shelter is used in New Zealand, the majority of the filming must be done in New Zealand. However, Oshima was concerned that the content would not be suitable for the extremely cold region, but he heard that the climate was warm, that if you went to Auckland, you would see towns that looked like those in England, and if you went to Rarotonga, you would find jungles. Information came that it would be possible to film scenes from the concentration camp.

At this time, Oshima was forced to make the biggest decision in this work. ``Should I go to Australia, even though it's a bit questionable money, or should I go to Rarotonga with New Zealand's better money? I can't stand having to make a decision like this over the phone.'' (mentioned above), but Oshima has a job. Therefore, we decided to hastily send art director Shigemasa Toda to location scout and wait for his report before making a decision.

Toda has been in charge of the art for Oshima's films since `` Tsuruma in the Daylight ''. In the past, Masaki Kobayashi's `` Kaidan '' (1964) was said to have created such a magnificent set that it bankrupted the production company, but Oshima Films created a set that was so grand that it was said that it bankrupted the production company. Taking this approach, he created stunning sets such as the execution site for `` Strangulation '', the grand old house for `` Ritual '', and the waiting area for ``Corrida of Love''. Even in movies where there was no room for a set, he used minimal techniques to completely transform the scenery, such as the black Hinomaru in ` `Nippon Shunkako,'' and the addition of Toda's art created a rich screen. Oshima also had complete trust in Toda, and always valued Toda's opinion when considering plans, and for ``Sen Meri'', Toda read the original and said, ``This is definitely good.'' Since then, the film has been made into a movie. For this reason, Oshima made his decision after Toda, who had seen the site, reported that there was nothing that could not be done. Thus, in May 1982, it was officially decided that ``Sen Meri'' would be filmed in New Zealand.

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