"Sweet Thing" directed by Alexander Rockwell The NY independent scene of the 80's and 90's was a magical time [Director's Interview Vol.158]

Alexander Rockwell was a film director who was active alongside Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, and Hal Hartley in the New York independent scene that flourished in the late 80s and early 90s. Although he also participated in the omnibus film ` `Four Rooms '' (1995) with Tarantino and others, there were not many opportunities for his work to be introduced in Japan after that.

However, while Rockwell continued to work as an independent, he also taught at New York University and focused on nurturing young talent such as Nomadland (2020) director Chloe Zhao. He then completed his latest film, ``Sweet Thing'' (2020), starring his biological children Lana and Nico, as a completely independent film.

The main characters are 15-year-old Billy (Lana Rockwell) and 11-year-old Nico (Nico Rockwell), who live with their unemployed father (Will Patton). However, his father was admitted to an institution due to alcoholism, and he was left in the care of his mother's boyfriend, who lived far away. However, sensing danger from their mother's rough boyfriend, the two set out on an escape trip with Malik, a boy from the neighborhood. The combination of black and white and color creates a beautiful, poetic road movie.

``Sweet Thing'' (2020) was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival last year under the title ``Beloved'' and received positive reviews, making it the first solo director's film to be released theatrically in Japan in 25 years. Ta. Furthermore, a re-screening of his breakthrough film ``In the Soup'' (1992) (for a week only at Shinjuku Cinema Karite from October 29th) has been decided. We spoke to Rockwell about his commitment to remaining an indie artist and his new work.

Index

• Life is short, but art has a long lifespan.
• The 80s and 90s were a magical time
• the pure spirit of children
• “Escape from Inferno” taught us about American poetry
• I hope the people who watch the movie make it their own.
• Reason for using townspeople instead of actors
• Every movie repeats the same thing

Life is short, but art has a long lifespan.

Q: "In the Soup" is still a work with many fans, but it has been 28 years since "In the Soup" and "Somebody to Love" since the director's work was released in theaters in Japan. It's been 25 years if I count. Could you give us your thoughts on Blank in Japan?

Rockwell: I'm not popular in Japan (lol). No, let's talk properly. There was a great time for independent filmmakers in America. It was me, Hal Hartley, Jim Jarmusch, and many others, but the door was opened to the world, and our work began to be shown in Germany, Japan, and France.

“In the Soup” preview

For example, a Japanese company had invested in ``In the Soup,'' and the premise was that it would be released in Japan. But over time it became difficult for indies to get funding, and the doors closed. Haru and I aren't interested in commercial Hollywood movies, we want to make our own movies. But it's really difficult to make a movie like ``Sweet Thing'' in America today. So we had to use non-traditional methods, such as raising funds through crowdfunding.

But 25 years is nothing. Life is short, but art has a long lifespan. But I promise I won't make you wait 25 years for the next movie.

The 80s and 90s were a magical time