"A Certain Man" Director Kei Ishikawa I had the idea of ​​"making a Japanese movie" [Director's Interview Vol.263]

When I watched ``A Certain Man,'' directed by Kei Ishikawa, I was reminded of classic Japanese mystery blockbusters such as `` Sand Vessel '' and `` Proof of Humanity .'' If that lineage exists, this film would be the latest film to take its place. The content is both passionate, profound, and entertaining. This work has a different director of photography, so it has a different impression than before, but the driving force and quality of the story is unique to director Ishikawa. In fact, it feels like it has been scaled up.

How did director Ishikawa create ``A Certain Man''? I asked him about his story.

“A Certain Man” Synopsis

Lawyer Kido (Satoshi Tsumabuki) receives a strange request from his client Rie (Sakura Ando) to investigate the background of her late husband, Daisuke (Masataka Kubota). After getting divorced, Rie returns to her hometown with her child and remarries Daisuke, whom she eventually meets. They were building a happy family with their new child, but one day he died in an unexpected accident. As Daisuke grieves, Daisuke's older brother Kyoichi, who had been estranged for many years, comes to the memorial service and, upon seeing the photograph of Daisuke, makes the shocking truth: ``This is not Daisuke.'' The husband she thought she loved turned out to be a completely different person whose name she didn't even know... Who on earth was the ``certain man'' who lived as ``Daisuke''? As Kido pursues the true identity of "a certain man" and approaches the "The Truth," he begins to develop complicated feelings for the man who lived as a different person.

Index

• How should we use Magritte's paintings?
• There are things that can spread due to differences in images.
• Kido's situation expressed through noise
• The idea of ​​``Let's make a Japanese movie''

How should we use Magritte's paintings?

Q: After reading the original story, you said that you thought, ``I'd be disappointed if it was directed by another director.'' Did you have the idea of ​​making it into a movie even while you were reading it?

Ishikawa: Previously, Mr. Hirano's works had a strong literary feel, making it difficult to make them into films, but recently he has a softer storytelling style, and I feel like he has opened up a lot. In particular, after reading the first few pages of `` A Certain Man ,'' I thought, ``This could be made into a movie.'' I continued reading with that image in mind.

Q: Kido, played by Satoshi Tsumabuki, is a third-generation Japanese resident, and social issues are also incorporated from Hirano's unique perspective.

Ishikawa: In Hollywood movies, Spanish immigrants are often the main characters. Even though this is becoming a trend all over the world, I felt like Japan was being left behind. Rather than focusing too much on social issues, I wanted to incorporate them into the film in a well-balanced manner, and I talked about this with Mr. Hirano. I think I did well this time.

“A Certain Man” ©2022 “A Certain Man” Production Committee

Q: The screenplay is being written by Kosuke Mukai, who worked on " Gugyoroku " (17). Please tell us why you asked Mukai to write it.

Ishikawa: Since this is Hirano's work, I felt that it would be absolutely useless if it were just entertainment. If I were to think of someone with whom I could firmly share that feeling, it would have to be Mr. Mukai. Even after `` Gugyoroku ,'' we went out for drinks privately, and I have a lot of trust in Mr. Mukai.

Q: Did you have any discussions with Mr. Mukai about the script?

Ishikawa: Actually, there was a time when I was trying to write the script myself. I had a draft with something like an initial rough outline, and I handed it to Mr. Mukai and said, ``This is what it would look like!'' (lol), and from there we made some choices and put it together.

Q: Rene Magritte's "Unauthorized Reproduction" is used impressively. This picture appears in the original work, but was there any particularity in its use?

Ishikawa: It was quite a difficult choice. If you overdo it, it will be obvious, so I wanted to make it as subtle as possible. I felt like that picture directly expressed the theme of ``A Certain Man''. In the original story, the novelist hears a story from the person next to him at a bar, and then begins writing. The movie begins with a completely different feeling, but by having that picture, the viewer is placed in the position of watching the story of ``a certain man, Kido.'' I felt it was important to make people feel that way.

Q: I feel like you don't see much use of pictures in Japanese movies these days.

Ishikawa: At the beginning of Portrait of a Lady on Fire (19), I think it starts with a shot that focuses on the painting, and when I saw that, I thought, ``Oh, maybe I can do it.'' Well, that movie inspired me. I remember now (lol).

There are things that can spread due to differences in images.