“Children of the Sun” director Hiroshi Kurosaki pursues “the dynamic of life” in a fictional world [Director’s Interview Vol.130]

Hiroshi Kurosaki is the director of the NHK drama series `` Hiyokko '' (2017) and the currently airing historical drama ``Seiten wo Kake'' (21). The movie ``Child of the Sun'' (hereinafter referred to as ``Child of the Sun''), which he spent over 10 years creating, will be released in theaters on August 6th.

Kyoto, summer of 1945. Osamu (Yagira Yuya), a young scientist, receives a secret order from the Navy to participate in a project to ``develop Japan's first atomic bomb.'' Even though he knows that if his research is successful, it will cost many lives, his desire as a researcher accelerates. His complex conflicts are depicted in his relationships with his childhood friend Setsu (Kasumi Arimura), his younger brother Hiroyuki (Haruma Miura) who is heading off to war, and his mother Fumi (Yuko Tanaka).

In addition to the domestic cast and staff, Nico Muhly, the composer of the Academy Award nominee `` A Love Story '' (2008), Matt Vowles, the sound designer of ` `A Star Is Born '' (2018), and John Wick This work features talented actors from all over the world, including Peter Stormare, who appeared in ``Chapter 2 '' (2017). This ambitious work is a bit different from previous war-themed films, including the sensational subject matter of ``Japan's atomic bomb research and development.''

This time, we have an exclusive interview with director Kurosaki. We spoke to him thoroughly about his journey and his methodology and thinking when it comes to manufacturing.

Index

• A diary from 1945 that I encountered at the library changed my destiny.
• Directing techniques cultivated through educational programs
• Heroes are also human. I want you to make a lot of mistakes and fail.
• The decision not to set a goal brought out the actors' true play.
• “Living” skin color created with a colorist
• Showing an attitude of “not taking photos” leads to a unified mindset on site.

A diary from 1945 that I encountered at the library changed my destiny.

Q: I heard that ``Child of the Sun'' began more than 10 years ago when director Kurosaki found fragments of a scientist's diary in a library in Hiroshima.

Kurosaki: After I finish shooting one piece and before starting on the next one, I often visit libraries and bookstores. I don't necessarily read the book, but as I walk through it looking at the spines lined up, my thoughts become more organized. The back cover is a collection of information and thoughts, so looking at it is an important time for me.

If I come across a book that suddenly strikes me as interesting, I pick it up, and that's how I encountered it at that time. I decided to go to a place with as few people as possible, so I walked to the history materials corner, and for some reason I found a diary of a student at Kyoto Imperial University in the collection of materials.

When I read it wondering what was written, I found that for August 6, 1945 (the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima), all that was written was ``It's nice weather'', and for August 7, it was ``Today''. "This happened" is all I can say. On August 8th, it was written that ``It seems that something terrible happened in Hiroshima,'' and that they hopped on a night train on the 9th and arrived in Hiroshima on the 10th.

This means that by then the second atomic bomb had been dropped on Nagasaki. In other words, when they arrived in Hiroshima without knowing anything and saw that scene, I think they intuitively knew that this must be what they were researching. It all started when I saw a document that tracked the day-to-day information and felt that I needed to investigate this further.

“Child of the Sun” ©2021 ELEVEN ARTS STUDIOS / “Child of the Sun” Film Partners

Q: It was a fateful encounter. In terms of timing, I think it was around the time of " Fire Fish " (09).

Kurosaki: I think it was before “Fire Fish.” I was still just starting out, and when I finally started taking pictures with my own colors... well, I still don't know what my colors are (lol). However, it may have been around the time when I started thinking strongly that I wanted to do something like this.

Q: So those feelings and your encounter with the subject matter matched well? Director Kurosaki was born in 1969 and went straight into film, joining NHK in 1992.What made him choose NHK?

Kurosaki: I love TV dramas, and I really wanted to create my own fiction. At the time, NHK was producing a lot of edgy one-off dramas in-house, which inspired me, and I thought that if I joined the company, I could create something original.

Directing techniques cultivated through educational programs