"Kasokeki Sankayou" Directed by Rikiya Imaizumi The script prioritizes what happens on set rather than everything [Director's Interview Vol.150]

*This article touches on the details of the main movie, so if you are interested, we recommend that you watch the movie before reading it.

In these days when we are overwhelmed with stimulating things both in reality and in movies, have we ever come across such a gentle story? The movie "Kasokeki Sankayou" is so full of kindness and warmth that it makes you think so. This film is a film adaptation of a short story by popular author Misumi Kubo, and while it retains Director Imaishi's unique narrative style, the kindhearted characters quietly but surely lead the story forward. The subtle emotions expressed by the actors, including the stars Sara Shida and Arata Iura, Akiko Kikuchi, Hiroshi Suzuka, and Hikari Ishida, are also amazing.

I can't help but feel that the movie ``Kasokeki Sankayou'' shows a new side of director Imaizumi, as if he has evolved one step further. We spoke to director Imaizumi about this work.

“Kasokeki Sankayou” synopsis

Haru (Shida Sara), whose mother left home when she was young and who has become independent, has a daily routine of coming home and immediately preparing dinner for her and her father, Nao (Arata Iura). One night, her father tells Haru something unexpected: "I have a boyfriend. I want to marry him." Their life together comes to an end, and the family of four begins a new life with Yoshiko (Kikuchi Akiko), the woman her father remarried, and her four-year-old stepdaughter, Hinata. Haru confides her confusion about her new life to her childhood friend, Riku (Suzuka Oji), who is a member of the same high school art club. Haru, who has been pining for her real mother, Sachiyo (Ishida Hikari), makes a promise to go to Sachiyo's solo exhibition with Riku, without revealing that she is her mother, but...

Index

• Original work recommended by the director himself
• I'm not attracted to technically good actors.
• Adults who are lost
• The correct answer is what happened at the scene.
• The wonders of editing when taken with one camera
• The charm of the original work is that it has complex emotions.
• Gary Ashiya's music helped

Original work recommended by the director himself

Q: Compared to Imaizumi's previous works, I think this movie has a more refined tranquility. It's very quiet and gentle, yet it really gets into your heart. Have you ever become more conscious of something (compared to before)?

Imaizumi: This time, it all started when I said, ``I want to make this original work into a movie.'' The original story has a quiet time between the father and daughter, and we kept that in mind when making it into a movie. The cast members also did it in a tone close to the original without having to be told to do it in a quiet tone, which helped me a lot. I also think that Gary's music and the overall tone naturally became closer to the original.

“Kasokeki Sankayou” © 2020 Movie “Kasokeki Sankayou” Production Committee

Q: So the director recommended the original work.

Imaizumi: That's right. I was a fan of Kubo-san's novels and had been reading a lot of them, and among them I came across this short story. However, at first, when I consulted various producers about making it into a movie, many of them expressed reluctance because it was short and the story would be too small. This film adaptation has been made into its current form, along with another short story in which Riku is the main character.

I have previously made film adaptations of original works, such as `` What's Love '' (2019) and `` Little Nights, Little Love '' (2019), but when it comes to turning a full-length novel into a two-hour movie, I have no choice but to drop side episodes and small stories. So next time I wanted to go the other way and turn a short novel into a full-length film.

I'm not attracted to technically good actors.