"Sasaki, In, My Mine" Director Takuya Uchiyama x Gaku Hosokawa I was determined not to run away from entertainment [Director's Interview Vol.96]

Director swimming with actors

Q: At first glance, it seems like Sasaki's character is so strong that it overshadows the other characters, including Yuji, but that's not the case at all. Yuji's presence in the film is very impressive, and the positions of the four characters, Sasaki, Yuji, Tada, and Kimura, are also clear. The acting of each of the actors is of course wonderful, but as a director, how did you position and move these actors?

Uchiyama: First of all, speaking only about Kisetsu, he is a person who keeps his feelings of frustration and energy hidden inside him. That's what's good about him. Also, the roles he has played up until now have often involved releasing that energy. On the other hand, this time it's the opposite, and he needs to suppress it to a frightening extent. I've been talking about this with Kisetsu for about a year from when we were cast until filming.

By spending nearly a year doing this and sharing all the time, even the time that seems like a waste, we develop a relationship where we can say anything. I try to spend as much time as possible with the actors. I think that preparation time is the most important thing.

What's common to all of the works from "Vanitas" is that I take the time to talk to each actor one by one. There, I mainly talk about two things: a common understanding of the role and an individual understanding of the role. Whether it's in a conference room or a bar, I spend time together and build a relationship between the actor and me. I don't mind spending as much time as I can to do that, and I just want to share that we're on the same level. I never tell the actors to do this or that, I just place importance on sharing.

Hosokawa: That's true. I think that's Uchiyama's strength. He's extremely strong there.

Q: Coach Uchiyama's unique approach is directly contributing to his strengths.

Hosokawa: Yes. It's a bit unusual, isn't it? The amount of time he spends on sharing a common understanding with the actors is extraordinary. I think it's very important to create something as an actor before filming begins, and Uchiyama gives it to us from the same perspective. So everyone's feelings are gradually moving in the same direction. I haven't met many directors like that before, so that's definitely a strength.

Q: As a director, you don't give instructions, but rather you always speak to the actors from their same perspective.

Uchiyama: Yes. It may be rude, but I do that regardless of age. This time, I took the same approach with my senior, Takuji Suzuki. Takeru told me that if there is a 25m pool, there are many coaches who will pull the rope or call out to you at the finish line, but Uchiyama is the only coach who will swim with you. I definitely want to get in the water with him, and even if my feet touch the ground, let's aim for the finish line together. Maybe there is no finish line. That's what he's doing.

I don't know what the view at the finish line will be like. I don't know what the outcome will be, but I think he's saying, "Let's go and see that view together."

Hosokawa: It feels like he's swimming a little ahead of you, guiding you.

Uchiyama: I'm very grateful to hear you say that.

Q: While you have that approach towards the actors, you also need a vision as a director for the entire film, right? Is that what you just said about being a little bit ahead of the rest?

Uchiyama: That's right. I think so. Director Uchiyama has always been lonely, and I was often told in the seasons. He never spends time with the actors, and he tries to be alone on set. I try to look at things as objectively as possible, using both a bird's-eye view of the whole and the same view as the actors. However, when it becomes less interesting to look at things objectively, I have to switch to a subjective view. I don't know how well I'm actually able to do this, but when I'm creating a work, I try to have a kind of God's perspective as much as possible.

Thoroughly prepared and destroyed on site