"He One Second Ahead" Director Atsuhiro Yamashita What experience teaches [Director's Interview Vol.329]

What experience points can teach us

Q: This time, the atmosphere of Kyoto was the base, but what did you discuss with the staff about the worldview?

Yamashita: This time it was a remake, so I already had an image in mind. We were wondering what we should do about that. Depending on the work, there are times when I convey the message through images, and other times when I have a concrete idea in mind, such as, ``This time, I want it to be like that scene from that movie.'' But sometimes I keep it to myself, and sometimes I say to the staff, ``It looks like that scene from that movie.'' I submit it by saying, ``It kind of feels like that, right?'' but it doesn't matter if it feels completely different. Even if things are different, I hope the results are better. I don't really have to solidify anything concretely.

Q: I get the impression that you have been shooting constantly since your debut, but have you changed your style or style?

Yamashita: What do you think? I think things are changing, though. I'm 47 years old this year, but when I was in my 20s and 30s, I felt like I was trying to stretch myself to catch up with the staff and cast around me. Now I'm older, and the assistant director is younger than me. When that happens, my way of being on set has changed, or rather I'm naturally able to be bossy (lol). I used to worry about going out to smoke, but now I go straight to it. People who knew me back in the day might think, ``I've become kind of bossy,'' or ``I've gotten old.'' I used to be persistent, persistent, and physically strong, but recently I've been able to say to myself, ``I'm done with it'' (lol). I think there is also the value of experience. I guess that's what has changed the most.

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Q: Did you stop sticking to takes because your experience level made it easier to see the finished product?

Yamashita: I think so. I may be able to think about editing more than I used to. In the past, I would say, ``I can do more, I can do more!'' and I would do six, seven, and eight takes, and each cut would be two or three minutes long (lol). After that, I was starting to get nervous on set, but I had the stamina to withstand the pressure from those around me, so I kept saying, ``Please do it one more time, give me one more time.'' In the end, what happens is that you don't know the correct answer. I don't know what OK is. I'd say, ``Huh? Oh no, I don't know what else to do!'' and it would end after the seventh or eighth time. But when I looked at all the takes during editing, they were all OK (laughs). It's a little different, but I'm like, ``Everything is OK.'' Because I have that kind of experience, I now know where I need to persevere. In the past, there was a time when I would do it over and over again if I was concerned about even 1mm. After knowing that things like that are all OK, I knew where to end them. Nowadays, I don't take 7 or 8 shots.

Q: Please tell us about the movie directors and works that have influenced you (your favorite).

Yamashita: I rewatched Aki Kaurismäki's early short film `` Midnight Rainbow '' (1988) for the first time in a while. I really liked it when I was in college. It's a story about two men and one woman, and when I saw it for the first time in a while, maybe because I was tired, I thought to myself, ``That's all there is to a movie.'' (laughs) It's really lean and simple. It was a movie that didn't have any strange cuts or anything, and the story simply flowed and ended quickly. I watched it for the first time in a while and felt really motivated, and I thought, ``Ah, I really like this director.'' There was a time in the past when I admired that style and imitated that style, and I was influenced by it, but I guess I was influenced by it after all. It made me want to make movies again.

Q: When you rewatch a movie as you get older, sometimes your impressions are different.

Yamashita: Yes. When I first saw it, I thought, ``All the cast members are old men.'' I was only 19 or 20 years old, so I thought, ``I'm just an old man.'' When I look at it now, everyone is younger than me (lol). I thought, ``I'm really into these guys,'' and I realized that the quality of the excitement had changed. Now that I'm older than that, I think there's a difference in impressions. "Yes, I was still young back then," he said (laughs).

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Director: Atsuhiro Yamashita

Born on August 29, 1976 in Aichi Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Film and Media at Osaka University of Arts. His The Graduate project, Donten Life (1999), was well-received both in Japan and overseas, leading to the "Bad Guy Trilogy" with screenwriter Kosuke Mukai, Fool's Box Boat (2003) and The Realism Inn (2004). Linda Linda Linda (2005) was a smash hit, followed by Tennen Kokekko (2007), which won the 32nd Hochi Film Award for Best Director and the 62nd Mainichi Film Award for Best Japanese Film, and helped newcomer Masaki Okada shine with high praise. Since then, he has steadily built up his career with works such as "My Back Pages" (11), "Kuyaku Ressha" (12), the drama "Lawless Zone at 3 AM" (13/Co-directed by Imaizumi Rikiya/BeeTV), "Tamako in Moratorium" (13), "Ajiuma Universe" (15), and "Over the Fence" (16), establishing a style that combines authorship and entertainment value. He won the 69th Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists for "Hard Core" (18). He has collaborated with Kudo Kankuro on "My Uncle" (16), in a supporting role in the TV drama "Kotaki Brothers and Their Struggles" (20/TX), and in the historical drama "Idaten: Tokyo Olympic Banashi" (19/NHK) with Yamashita Nobuhiro, but this is the first time they have worked together as director and screenwriter. Upcoming works include "Karaoke Ikou!", based on a novel by Wakayama Yama and written by Nogi Akiko. ' and the rotoscoped animated film 'Bakeneko Anzu-chan' (co-directed by Kuno Haruko).

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

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