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

Everyone is a "young stranger"

Q: You both seem to be very stoic about filmmaking. What were your impressions of each other while filming?

Uchiyama: I thought he was serious, but I felt that he had a similar soul to me, such as how he captures and faces things every day. We were born and raised in completely different places, and this was the first time we worked together, but there was a kind of close sympathy. I'm not shooting films now, so communication has naturally become more distant, but somewhere I'm conscious of him, and even though we've been apart for a while, it doesn't feel like we're meeting for the first time in a long time, and I feel like we're somehow connected.

Isomura: Well, I think exactly the same as what Director Uchiyama said. After working on this film, the trust that has been born between us and the word "soul" that was just mentioned, that connection has become solid. But it's not something "hot" or anything like that, we just keep a nice, mild distance between us. It's because we have something in common with each other in our minds that we're able to be comfortable with each other even without saying anything.

These kinds of encounters are strange, and some relationships don't turn out that way. On the other hand, the members I met on "Young..." get together regularly and eat meals together even after filming is over. I've never had that kind of relationship before, so I think that's how precious the set was, and it was something like a crystallization that was born because we were all facing the same direction.

"Young Strangers" ©2024 The Young Strangers Film Partners

Q: Did the fact that you two were of the same generation play a big role?

Uchiyama: Of course there is. I think there is a common language, like we watched this kind of TV, we played this kind of The Game, but that's just the surface. Toyohara-san, Takito-san, and Kirishima-san were all in the same boat, and there was no hierarchy or barrier between us. We don't think about youth or age, and I don't really like to categorize people that way. We all have a common language in which we're all "young strangers." I hope I can convey those kinds of feelings and thoughts.

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Original story/script/director: Takuya Uchiyama

Born in Niigata Prefecture in 1992. After enrolling in Bunka Fashion College, he began working as a stylist in parallel with his studies, but in the process he was exposed to film sets and decided to pursue a career in film. His first directorial work at the age of 23, "Vanitas" (2016), won the Audience Award at the PFF Awards 2016, and was also entered in the Hong Kong International Film Festival and nominated for the FIPRESCI Award. His feature film debut was "Sasaki, in My Mind" (2020), which he co-wrote with actor Hosokawa Gaku. It won the 2020 Shindo Kaneto Award and the New Director Award at the 42nd Yokohama Film Festival. He continues to attract attention for directing music videos such as King Gnu's "The Hole" and SixTONES' "Watashi," as well as short films and advertising videos such as "Amari Aru" (21) and "LAYERS" (22), and was selected as one of the "100 People Who Will Change Japan in 2021." "Young Strangers" is his long-awaited first commercial feature film as a director.

Hayato Isomura

Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1992. He joined a local theater company in high school and made his acting debut in 2014. After becoming widely known to viewers in the 2017 TV drama series "Hiyokko" (NHK), he has appeared in a series of popular dramas, including "From Today, It's My Turn!!" (NTV), the "Sauna" series (TX), the historical drama "Seiten wo Tsuke" (NHK), and "Koisuru Hahatachi" (TBS). In 2022, he won the Newcomer Actor Award at the 45th Japan Academy Awards for his roles in the films "Yakuza and the Family" (21) and "What Did You Eat Yesterday?" (21). His first starring role in a film was in "Believers" (22). He also walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in "PLAN 75" (22). In 2023, five films were released, including "Going to the End", "Ripples", "Drought", "Moon", and "Seiyoku", and he won the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 47th Japan Academy Awards for "Moon". This year, he also recently played two roles in the TBS drama "Fukken mo Hokugo ga Aru!", and the film "Hakkenden" (24) is scheduled to be released in the fall.

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

"Young Strangers"

Hayato Isomura, Yukino Kishii, Shota Fukuyama, Shota Sometani

Sora Ijima, Tan Nagai, Ryunosuke Azuma, Kouki Matsuda, Hiroyuki Onoue, Shinsuke Kato, Fabio Harada, Akira Ohtaka

Kenichi Takito / Kosuke Toyohara Reika Kirishima

Original story, script and direction: Takuya Uchiyama

©2024 The Young Strangers Film Partners

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