"Harumu Hitobito" Director Nakajima Shunsuke × Starring / Planning and Producer: Souma Yukimi Respected the opinions of a mother [Director's Interview Vol.503]

"Harumu Hitobito," planned, produced, and starring actor Soma Yukimi, is a story about mothers that reflects Soma's own worries and experiences. It is directed and written by Nakajima Shunsuke, who has worked on music videos for Creepy Nuts and is also active as a commercial director. This film is a unique piece of content that only Nakajima, who has continued to depict the theme of "pain" in his independent films, could have created. How did Soma and Nakajima create "Harumu Hitobito"? We spoke to the two of them.

Synopsis of "The Pregnant"

Akiko (Soma Yukimi), raising her three-year-old son Yuri, is unable to rely on her husband Masato (Maehara Mizuki), who prioritizes his work, and is increasingly isolated from society, leading to a childcare neurosis. Meanwhile, Ikumi (Seto Kaho), who works at an advertising agency, becomes unwilling to conceive with her husband Shunsuke (Asaka Kodai), a famous copywriter. The two old friends reunite by chance, empathize with each other's circumstances, and eventually form a cooperative relationship. Akiko shows signs of recovery, and through her interactions with Yuri, Tomi also begins to resolve to become a mother. However, just as this is happening, Yuri is abandoned... Akiko, Tomi, Shunsuke, and Masato's respective feelings, sense of justice, conflict, despair, and hope intersect...

Index

• Children and career: the question of choice
• It was good to be paired with such a passionate person.
• Reason for requesting a retake
• The opinion of his mother, Soma-san, was respected

Children and career: the question of choice

Q: This is an independent film, how did it get started?

Soma: This year marks my 20th year as an actor, and I wanted to take on a new challenge. I received some advice and the idea of making a feature film came to mind. I didn't want to give up my work because of my pregnancy, so I wanted to make a film with that kind of subject matter. That was the initial trigger.

Having a child means I have to take time off work, so I was afraid that everything I had built up up until then would be gone. I want a child, but I don't want to give up my career. Why do I have to choose one or the other in the first place? It's true that I avoided pregnancy because I didn't want to face that choice. It's something you need to think about and face. But it takes a lot of courage, and I think there are many women who struggle with this. I hope this film will inspire them to face it.

Q: Mr. Soma, you also planned and produced this film, but did you first create the plot when starting production?

Soma: After I decided to make a film, I immediately spoke to screenwriter Mihiro Tomiyasu and we worked together to move forward. In addition to the theme of not wanting to give up work because of pregnancy, we also decided to depict the issue of children being left in cars, which Tomiyasu had always been concerned about.

"Harumu Hitobito" ©Harumu Hitobito Partners

Q: When did Director Nakajima join the team?

Soma: Initially, commercial director Satoshi Tanaka was scheduled to direct the film, and I was working on it with him. Then, Tanaka suggested, "Maybe there's someone more suitable for the role than me." So, when I thought about who might be the right person, I remembered a film by Director Nakajima that I'd seen at a film festival. Nakajima makes films with the theme of "pain," and he makes appearances at various places, including film festivals, communicating with many people. I thought Director Nakajima might actually be a "nice person." I wanted to work with someone who was proactive and "nice," so I instinctively thought, "Nakajima would be perfect." When I mentioned this to Tanaka, he was already acquainted with Nakajima, so he said, "Nakajima! That's great!" So, the three of us - Tanaka, Nakajima, and I - met.

Q: How did you feel when you heard about the role, Nakajima-san?

Nakajima: I knew Soma-san and Tanaka-san, so I was looking forward to the film they were making. Crowdfunding for this film had already begun, so I supported it there. I was surprised when I was asked to direct, but I sympathized with what Soma-san was thinking about this project, so I said, "Please do."

The script was almost complete when I accepted the offer, but Tanaka's taste was quite strong, so if I were to direct it, I wanted to change that a bit. After getting permission from the two of them, I started by revising the script.

Soma: Without changing the basis of the original script, Nakajima added his own touch, and Tomiyasu did a great job of making it blend in well.

It was good to be paired with such a passionate person.