"Egoist" Director Daiji Matsunaga x Ryohei Suzuki x Hio Miyazawa One scene and one cut [Director's Interview Vol.280]

What is an “egoist”?

Q: After watching the movie, the title ``The Egoist'' stands out to me and a lot of thoughts go through my mind. It's a very strong word, but it made me think about its meaning. How did you receive this title?

Suzuki: I thought this was a story about an egoist as the main character, but instead it was a story about a person who thinks he is an egoist and keeps apologizing for being an egoist. If you look at it from the outside, there are parts of it that may seem egotistical, but there are also parts of it that can be seen as love. I hope the viewers can feel that, but I find Kosuke incredibly endearing, even with his egotistical feelings.

“Egoist” © 2023 Makoto Takayama/Shogakukan/“Egoist” Production Committee

Matsunaga: I think the profession of film director is basically self-centered and egotistical. I want to place great importance on movies and making movies, but sometimes that means being extremely selfish towards other people. For example, I think it's extremely selfish to say, ``Please let me take another shot!'' when everyone is leaving after filming is over. But I think it's absolutely necessary for this movie, which is why I decided to shoot it again.

One day, a producer I respect said this to me. ``Matsunaga-kun is not suited to be a movie director.'' He told me, ``Matsunaga-kun is too kind. If you value your work and want to make a good one, you have to have the will to try, even if it means going beyond the time limit, otherwise you won't be able to make a movie.'' I'll never forget that. Sometimes half-hearted kindness doesn't make people happy. In order to protect the two of us and the staff who have given everything to us by exposing everything this time, I have to do what I want to do without compromise. I believe that this will result in love for everyone. I had that awareness within myself, so when I read the original story, ``The Egoist,'' I thought it was exactly right.

Miyazawa: The word egoist has a negative image of being selfish and self-centered. It wasn't something I wanted to say, and I had the impression that I didn't want to say that. However, after watching this work, I thought about the ego again, and I realized that perhaps there is beauty in it. That's what I thought. The negative impression I had inside me disappeared, and it became an opportunity for me to face myself and my ego.

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(From left) Hio Miyazawa, Director Daiji Matsunaga, Ryohei Suzuki

Director/Screenplay: Daiji Matsunaga

Born in 1974. He made his directorial debut with the documentary film Pyupil (2011), which followed his friend Pyupil, a transgender contemporary artist, for eight years. The film was officially invited to numerous film festivals, including the 40th Rotterdam International Film Festival, the 11th Jeonju International Film Festival, and the Paris Film Festival, and received rave reviews. In 2015, his first full-length feature film “Toilet Pietà” (starring Yojiro Noda and Hana Sugisaki) was released. This film won the 20th Kaneto Shindo Silver Award and the Yoshimitsu Morita Memorial New Director Award at the Yokohama Film Festival. It was also officially submitted to the International Competition section of the 16th Jeonju Film Festival and the Voices section of the 45th Rotterdam International Film Festival. In 2017, the documentary film ``Ototoki'' was released, which follows THE YELLOW MONKEY's one-year activities after making a comeback after 15 years. The film was officially submitted to the Wide Angle section of the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. Furthermore, in 2018, he participated as one of Asia's up-and-coming directors in the second installment of the Japan Foundation x Tokyo International Film Festival's ``Asian Three-Fold Mirror'' project, and his ``Hekishu'' was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Since then, his directorial works include Haruki Murakami's ``Hanalei Bay'' (starring Yo Yoshida, Reo Sano, Nijiro Murakami) and ``Pure Japanese'' (starring Dean Fujioka, Ayada Makita).

Ryohei Suzuki

Born on March 29, 1983. Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Debuted as an actor in 2006. In 2007, he made his first film appearance in "Tsubaki Sanjuro". After that, he appeared in "HK/Hentai Kamen" (13) and others. In 2014, he played the role of the heroine's husband in the NHK TV drama series ``Hanako and Anne,'' and in the movie ``Ore Monogatari!!'' released in 2015, he played the role of the unconventional high school student protagonist. Since then, he has appeared in ``Shinobi no Kuni'' (17), ``Forest of Hitsuji and Steel'' (18), and ``One Nigh'' (19). In 2018, he played the main character Takamori Saigo in the NHK Taiga drama ``Saigodon''. Since then, he has appeared in TV dramas such as ``Ship of Theseus'' (20), ``Renai Manga Ka'' (21), and ``TOKYO MER ~Running Emergency Room~'' (21). For the movie "Lone Wolf's Blood LEVEL 2" (21), he won the 45th Japan Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 46th Hochi Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, the 34th Nikkan Sports Film Awards for Best Supporting Actor, and the 95th Japan Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He won many awards including the Kinema Junpo Best Ten Supporting Actor Award and the 43rd Yokohama Film Festival Supporting Actor Award. In the same year, ``Moeyo Ken'' (21) and ``Tsuchiryu no Uta FINAL'' (21) were released. In October 2022, he will appear in the TV drama ``Elpis - Hope or Disaster'', and in April 2023, the movie ``TOKYO MER ~Running Emergency Room~'' will be released.

Hyo Miyazawa

Born on April 24, 1994. Originally from San Francisco. He made his acting debut in the second series of the TV drama "Kounodori" in 2017. After that, he starred in the drama ``Fake Affair'' (19), the NHK TV drama series ``Ale'' (20), the movie ``Goodbye Cruel World'' (22), ``To All the People I've Loved'' and ``The One Who Loved You''. Appeared in many works such as ``No Boku e'' (22/voice appearance). He won numerous Newcomer Awards for his first leading role in the movie ``His'' (2020), and won the 45th Japan Academy Award for Best Newcomer for the movie ``Trempeil's Fangs'' (21). Stage performances include ``BOAT,'' ``Sea of ​​Fertility,'' ``CITY,'' and ``Pissarro.'' In addition, her appearance in the NHK TV drama series ``Chimudondon'' (22) also attracted attention. “THE LEGEND & BUTTERFLY” is being released in 2023.

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

"egoist"

Nationwide release on Friday, February 10th

Distribution: Tokyo Theater

© 2023 Makoto Takayama/Shogakukan/“Egoist” Production Committee