"Kokoro Amiko" Director Yusuke Morii "Just talk" without acting [Director's Interview Vol.222]

I want to make a strange movie

Q: Director Morii used to be an assistant director, but did you make use of your experience as an assistant director when directing this film?

Morii: I can understand what everyone in the field is thinking right now. Since I have had a long experience as an assistant director, I think I have a rough idea of ​​what the staff members are dissatisfied with and what they want to do.

Q: How long have you been an assistant director?

Morii: About 13 years. But when he was an assistant director, he was completely incompetent. He really didn't like being an assistant director and was a very timid person (lol).

Q: Now that you have made a wonderful debut as a director, what kind of films would you like to make in the future?

Morii: What kind of movie would you like? I'm thinking about it. But I want it to be a strange movie. I like movies with mystery, so I want to make something like that.

“This is Amiko” ©2022 “This is Amiko” Film Partners

Q: It seems like you'll get a lot of feedback from producers who have seen this work.

Morii: By all means! I don't know if I can live up to your expectations (lol). Machiko Ono keeps telling me that I might not be able to take pictures of anyone but Kazuna (lol).

Q: Okay, last question. If you have any directors or favorite works that have influenced Director Morii, please let us know.

Morii: I was heavily influenced by director Hiroshi Shimizu's `` Children in the Wind, '' which I mentioned earlier. When shooting this film, I worked on films such as `` The 400 Blows '' (1959, directed by François Truffaut), `` Céline and Julie Go Boating '' (1974, directed by Jacques Rivette), and works by director Robert Bresson. I was influenced by that.

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Director/Screenplay: Yusuke Morii

Born in Hyogo Prefecture in 1985. After The Graduate from the Department of Film and New Media at the Japan Film School (currently the Japan Institute of the Moving Image), he entered the film industry as a director in ``The Witch of the West is Dead'' (2008) directed by Shunichi Nagasaki, who was a lecturer at the film school. Since then, he has worked as an assistant director for directors who are leading the Japanese film industry, including director Tatsushi Omori, and made his long-awaited directorial debut with this film, ``Kochira Amiko.''

Interview and text: Fumio Koda

Editorial staff and writer for CINEMORE. My favorite movies are ``The Goonies'' and ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'' My recent favorites are 4K digitally remastered classics by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu.

Photography: Kazunari Aoki

“This is Amiko.”

July 8th (Friday) Shinjuku Musashinokan and other theaters nationwide

Distribution: Ark Entertainment

©2022 “Kochira Amiko” Film Partners