"658km, Yoko's Journey" Director Kazuyoshi Kumakiri A life that could have been for me [Director's Interview Vol.336]

I would have taken the photos even if it wasn't snowing.

Q: The location and the camera that captures it are amazing. How did you decide on the location?

Kumakiri: Before revising the script, I took cameraman Kobayashi-kun with me to go scenario hunting. We went on a two-night trip to Tohoku and looked around at various places on instinct. I also found the location for the sea scene during that scenario hunting. I looked at as many places as possible, and from there I arranged the locations while considering the balance of the film and, of course, the schedule.

Q: The scene where you pour out your feelings at the sea was amazing. I imagine it was difficult to film.

Kumakiri: It was a one-shot deal. That was something that Mr. Kikuchi had bet on. His acting was great, but we couldn't afford to make any mistakes. We made sure to plan everything carefully. When we were scouting locations, the sun was just shining in, and I had that image in mind, but on the day of filming, it was cloudy. But it somehow turned out to be good, and I think we were able to shoot a very powerful scene.

Q: As we head north, it gradually starts to snow. Did you take that into account when taking the photos?

Kumakiri: Ideally, I wanted the last scene to have snow, and I wrote that in the script. It was truly a miracle, but it snowed on the day of the shoot, just as I had hoped. When I woke up in the hotel at dawn on the day of the shoot, it was quiet, so I thought, "Oh, it's snowing." When snow piles up, it absorbs sound, so it becomes quiet. If we get too excited about this, the snow will stop, so I told everyone, "Let's just do it quietly," and we shot the scene.

Q: If it hadn't snowed, would filming have been postponed?

Kumakiri: No, we didn't have the luxury of postponing it, so I think it probably would have ended without it snowing.

"658km, Yoko's Journey" ©2022 "658km, Yoko's Journey" Production Committee

Q: Cinematographer Kobayashi Taku created such imposing images that it was hard to believe this was his film debut.

Kumakiri: He was an assistant to Kondo Tatsuhito, so I knew him well from before and trusted him as a person. We did an NHK drama together before this one, and he took really beautiful photos of the lead actress Ichikawa Mikako. This time, I wanted Yoko to look gradually more beautiful, so I thought Kobayashi, who is good at taking photos of women, would be a good choice. The images he takes seem hard, but they are a little soft. I like that about him.

Q: The constantly moving camerawork was also impressive. Was that intentional?

Kumakiri: In the previous drama, I moved around a lot more, so I think I said, "Let's not move around so much this time." (laughs) There were quite a few long takes, so I was in charge of how to move the characters in the space, and they followed that well in the frame.

We shot 7 takes, and the first one was used.