"Young Strangers" Director Takuya Uchiyama and Hayato Isomura take on the challenge of "changing the protagonist" [Director's Interview Vol. 441]

Taking on the challenge of "changing the protagonist"

Q: What was your impression when you first saw Isomura-san come to the set as Saito?

Uchiyama: I felt like I was continuing from yesterday, and I realized that I was breathing like that, and that's the way I was making my expressions. I felt like I was entering flat, and the intensity was increasing as I continued to the end. I felt like I was slipping into an extension of my daily life, and that feeling had continued from the first day.

Q: How did you feel when you first appeared in front of the director as Saito?

Isomura: I wasn't thinking about how it would go on the first day, and I wasn't acting while looking at the director's face. I had prepared for the role of Saito, but rather than wanting to show it to the director, I was concerned about whether the scenes we were going to shoot on the first day, like riding a bike and climbing hills, were something I could do on a daily basis as Saito.

Q: Mr. Isomura, how did you perceive the character of Saito?

Isomura: Ayato thinks that he is in a state where he could disappear at any time, but he still has to live with his feet firmly planted in the place where he lives. He is fragile, but somehow he is standing. I wanted to express that side of him well. He is not living a life that he is satisfied with, he just works, he cares for his younger brother, and even though deep down he supports his younger brother, he never shows it. Anyway, he is a young man who sacrifices himself and works hard to make time for his family.

"Young Strangers" ©2024 The Young Strangers Film Partners

Q: In the middle of the film, there is a change in the protagonist, a transition that could be called a succession of wills. Ayato actually no longer appears on screen, but was there anything you were conscious of?

Uchiyama: The change of protagonist was a theme for me from the beginning. It's a 1 hour 59 minute movie, but the script and editing are structured so that the midpoint is exactly in the middle. That's an important part of the expression, and it's full of the qualities that this work takes on. I think you'll feel it more when you watch it. Just because Saito leaves, it doesn't mean he doesn't exist. That was the most difficult part, but also the most interesting. I wanted to try it as one way of doing it as a Japanese movie.

Isomura: I didn't think at all about making the first half of the film with that in mind, since I wouldn't be appearing in the second half. However, I wanted to talk as much as possible with the people around my family, especially those who were left behind, such as Kirishima-san, Kishii-san, and (Fukuyama) Shota, outside of filming, and to make sure that each other's presence was strong beyond just the roles. In particular, the presence of his younger brother and the martial arts matches must have been a great source of energy for Ayato, and in fact, Shota spent a year training and changing his physique, and he was facing the role with his whole life on the line. That's why I wanted to create a deeper relationship with Shota in my private time. The reason why the image of Ayato's life was so strong was because each of the characters acted while feeling Ayato. I think the other actors helped me in that regard.

Everyone is a "young stranger"