"Monster" Director Hirokazu Kore-eda It was a highly complete script with few problems on set [Director's Interview Vol.319]

Yuko Tanaka, Ryuichi Sakamoto, working with someone I admire

Q: The principal played by Yuko Tanaka is a subdued character, but her presence cannot be hidden and it is overwhelming. This was your first job, but what was it like on-site?

Kore-eda: Immediately after a very serious scene, everyone was laughing and the scene progressed harmoniously, but I was nervous by myself (lol). Photographing Yuko requires determination. I felt like I was being tested in a different way than Kirin Kiki.

When we were filming a scene in the principal's office, the principal played by Yuko Tanaka, who had been listening to the parents saying "Yes...yes...", suddenly realized that as soon as the vice principal and other teachers came in, I press the ballpoint pen I was taking notes on and get up from my seat, saying, ``Okay, that's it.'' The moment I saw that, I was horrified. I thought, ``Oh, this person wasn't listening to anything. He was just pretending to be listening intently.'' I understood everything from the sound and movement of that ballpoint pen, and I thought, ``I can't miss this.'' From then on, it was difficult to keep my concentration on set.

“Monster” ©2023 “Monster” Production Committee

Q: It was a long-held desire to collaborate with Ryuichi Sakamoto, but what was it about Sakamoto's music that attracted you?

Kore-eda: I think the biggest thing for me is being able to visualize the images. When I listen to Sakamoto-san's songs, images and colors come to mind. When I saw the pitch black Lake Suwa at night, I saw a bright red fire engine running there, and I thought, ``Oh, that's a piano'' and ``Oh, that's Mr. Sakamoto!''

Before I asked Mr. Sakamoto for the preliminary edit, I used some of Mr. Sakamoto's existing songs without permission. For example, ``hibari'' is a slightly strange song with two intertwined melodies that sound like they're chasing each other, so I thought it could be used to accompany two children on their way. That remained the same (in the main story).

Ryuichi Sakamoto “hibari”

Mr. Sakamoto told me, ``I can't do everything,'' partly because of my physical strength. But once they saw it, they said it was very interesting and said, ``There are one or two songs that came to mind, so I'll try to make them into reality.'' I was already feeling ``delighted!''.

He also told me that he could use the album `` 12 ,'' which was released at the end of last year, and I was able to choose from that as well. When the children put their ears to the manhole and headed from there to the secret base, I put in the song from `` 12 '', and it was so perfect that I thought, ``Maybe they made it after looking at the picture.'' I was surprised. I think that by using Sakamoto-san's songs from various periods, including the songs that were included in the preliminary editing, the depth of the work became wider and deeper.

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Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Born June 6, 1962 in Tokyo. After The Graduate from Waseda University, he joined TV Man Union. In 2014, he became independent and established the creator group "Bunpuku". He made his directorial debut in 1995 with ``Phantom Light,'' and since then has released numerous works such as ``Nobody Knows'' (2004), ``And Becomes a Father'' (13), and ``Umimachi Diary'' (15). send out. In 2018, "Shoplifters" won the top prize Palme d'Or at the 71st Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, and won many other film awards. 2019's ``The Truth'' is an international co-production work, and sessions with overseas filmmakers are in full swing, and in 2022, ``Baby Broker'', the first Korean film, will be selected as a contestant at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. Officially submitted to the Petition section and won the Ecumenical Jury Award. Song Kang-ho, who played the lead role, became the first Korean actor to win the Best Actor Award.

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

"Monster"

Nationwide release on Friday, June 2nd

Distribution: Toho Gaga

©2023 “Monster” Production Committee