Directors Miwa Nishikawa and Nobuhiro Yamashita talk about "Film and Whisky" Part 1: Love Cinema. Love Whisky.

Cool ways to drink whiskey in movies

Q: Director Nishikawa, do you usually drink a lot of beer on the rocks?

Nishikawa: When I drink at home, I usually drink it on the rocks or straight.

Yamashita: Wow, I really like that. I usually drink highballs or water.

Nishikawa: But I don't drink a lot at home. I drink less than a single serving, slowly, bit by bit. In American movies, people drink surprisingly fast.

Q: When you watch a movie at home, do you ever feel like drinking alcohol?

Nishikawa: That's exactly why I started drinking whiskey at home. I like to drink whiskey at the end of the day while watching a movie on DVD or streaming at home, and I think that's because there are a lot of scenes in movies where people drink whiskey.

Director Miwa Nishikawa

Yamashita: Ever since I was a kid, adults drinking whiskey in movies looked cool. But I didn't admire the image of them drinking coolly in a nice bar. I admired a more casual way of drinking, like drinking from a flask outside or gulping down the whole bottle. Even though I didn't know the taste yet, the labels on foreign whiskey bottles looked cool to me. I remember well the scene in Platoon (director: Oliver Stone, 1986) where Tom Berenger's Burns drinks whiskey from the whole bottle. He gets involved with Charlie Sheen and sloshes it out of his mouth (laughs). It's not exactly cool, but it feels very American and it's memorable.

Nishikawa: At first glance, whiskey has a strong image of being something that men drink, but when you watch movies, women drink it as well. When someone comes to your house, you offer them a glass of whiskey instead of tea. I really like " The Verdict " (director: Sidney Lumet, 1982), in which Paul Newman plays a useless lawyer who drinks all day long, and in the morning he plays pinball at his favorite pub, drops a raw egg into his beer, and drinks it all in one gulp.

Yamashita: What kind of situation is that?

Nishikawa: He probably doesn't eat much and only drinks lukewarm beer from morning. So maybe the raw egg is the least he can do to get nutrition. But at night, he sips a shot glass of whiskey at the counter. That's cool. A mysterious woman played by Charlotte Rampling often comes to the pub, and Paul Newman buys her drinks and falls for her, but in fact she is... That's the story of the movie. Charlotte Rampling drinks the whiskey that is bought for her at the pub without a second thought, and when she goes to his house, she drinks it when he asks her if she wants a drink. What's more, the two of them put their arms around each other's backs while holding their glasses and kiss. It's so mature.

Yamashita: I see. When I think of whiskey, I have a strong image of drinking it from the bottle, but for you, it's a drink that you drink properly from a glass.

Nishikawa: I often see it in a shot glass too.

Yamashita: That's true. In Japan, shot glasses are strongly associated with tequila, but in American movies, it seems like that's the normal way people drink alcohol.

Nishikawa: I think you feel the same way, Mr. Yamashita. I'm also someone who has always admired New Cinema and other so-called American movies, so I do admire the way they drink when I watch them. That said, I can't imitate the way they drink shot glasses one after another (laughs).

The movies that the two of them talked about, from "Crazy Heart" to "The Color of Money" to "Heaven and Inferno" to "The Verdict", are all masterpieces with a lot of depth. Why not enjoy a movie like this tonight with a glass of whiskey? You may be able to immerse yourself in the world you long for.

In the second part, we asked the two about the whiskey scenes and actors they would like to shoot, their thoughts on whiskey direction, and stories from the staff. Please look forward to it! Click here for the second part.

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Film director: Miwa Nishikawa

Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1974. Graduated from Waseda University's School of Literature. In 2002, he made his debut as an original screenwriter and director with "Snake Strawberry". His subsequent feature films include "Sway" (2006), "Dear Doctor" (2009), "The Two Who Sell Dreams" (2012), and "A Long Excuse" (2016). His latest work, "A Wonderful World" (2021, starring Koji Yakusho), based on Ryuzo Saki's novel "Identity Book", won the Audience Award in the Foreign Language Film category at the Chicago International Film Festival. His novels include "Sway", "God of Yesterday", "The 5:25 Departure from Tokyo Station That Day", and "A Long Excuse". His essays include "About x Related to Films", "Faraway", and "The Screen is Waiting".

Film Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1976, he graduated from the Department of Film and Media, Faculty of Arts, Osaka University of Arts. His film "Donten Life" (1999) was highly praised both at home and abroad, and he broke new ground with his hit film "Linda Linda Linda" (2005). He was the youngest person to win the Best Director Award at the 32nd Hochi Film Awards for "Tennen Kokekko" (2007). Since then, he has been popular for his style that combines auteurism and entertainment value, such as "My Back Pages" (2011), "Tamako in Moratorium" (2012), "Moratorium Tamako" (2013), and "Ajiuma Universe" (2015). He won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists for "Hard Core" (2018). His drama "Kotaki Brothers and Their Struggles" (2020) won the Galaxy Award in the TV category and the ATP Award in the Drama category. His latest work is "Redder Than Yesterday, Bluer Than Tomorrow - CINEMA FIGHTERS project - The Unspeakable Two" (scheduled for release on November 26th this year).

Interview and text: Rie Tsukinaga

Film writer and editor. Editor of the magazine "Eiga Yokocho". Writes film reviews, columns, and investigative articles for "Asahi Shimbun", "Metropolitana", "Weekly Bunshun", "iD JAPAN", etc. Also edits books and film pamphlets under the name "Eiga Sakaba Editorial Office". Currently hosts the web program "Katsuben Cinema Club". eigasakaba.net

Photography: Kazunari Aoki

Illustration: Kawahara Mizumaru

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