"Linda Linda Linda 4K" Director Nobuhiro Yamashita: The Strength of a Film That Doesn't Specialize in Anything [Director's Interview Vol.510]

The masterpiece of the 2000s, "Linda Linda Linda," has returned to the big screen in 4K. When it was released, it was incredibly entertaining, and when I rewatched it 20 years later, I was amazed at how miraculously well-made it was. Was this movie really that amazing?

Director Nobuhiro Yamashita was just 28 years old at the time of filming. How did the still-new director create "Linda Linda Linda"? We spoke to him.

"Linda Linda Linda" Synopsis

A group of high school girls suddenly form a band the day before the cultural festival. They copy the songs of The Blue Hearts, and the vocalist is a student studying abroad from Korea! With only three days left until the festival, the four girls begin their intense practice sessions, with lots of detours!

Index

• From a loser to a high school girl
• The script was adapted to suit the cast
• We will assign interesting people
• To the site surrounded by professionals
• I liked the overhead view
• Bae Doona's strict approach to film
• How to make a movie in the film era

From a loser to a high school girl

Q: It's been 20 years since the film was screened again. What did you think of it when you saw it again?

Yamashita: We had it screened for the 10th anniversary 10 years ago, and each time I watch it, I'm able to look at it more objectively. Now, just seeing the girls trying their best brings me to tears... I feel like I've definitely gotten older (laughs). I directed it myself, but it feels like something completely different.

Q: When it was released, I thought it was incredibly interesting, but when I watched it again, I was surprised at how flawlessly it was made, something you wouldn't expect from a new director. What was your impression of the film at the time?

Yamashita: At the time, this was about the fifth film I had directed. Up until then, I had been working on what was known as the "Bad Guy Trilogy," a worldview that was set within a 10-meter radius of a four-and-a-half-tatami room, so when I first made this, I wasn't sure if it was the right choice. I wondered if it was the right choice. It felt like I was making something in the opposite direction to what I had made up until then, and I really felt like my own sensibilities hadn't caught up. Of course, I felt like we'd all worked hard together to make it, but once it was completed, released, and many people were praising it, I still didn't really get the appeal of this film.

"Linda Linda Linda 4K" © "Linda Linda Linda" Partners

Q: You were a director who had been portraying bad boys, so suddenly you decided to portray a high school girl.

Yamashita: So I thought, "Why me?" The films I had made up until then didn't have any musical elements, and they didn't have that sparkling teenage feel. But the producer said, "I have a vague storyline, but you can start from scratch for now, so why don't we just come up with it together, with just the idea that 'high school girls form a Blue Hearts cover band'?" I said, "In that case, please," and we started developing it together.

Q: At the time, it was also praised as a "stylish movie." How did you feel about something you worked on going in that direction?

Yamashita: I think back then I definitely didn't want to make it fashionable, and I wasn't aiming for anything like that at all. But after making it, I realized that if you properly capture teenage girls, you can create something refreshing, clear, and sparkling. Until then, I had been portraying useless men in their 20s, but when the subjects I was filming became teenagers, I realized that the sparkle that naturally came out of the girls changed the way I saw the film itself. I learned a lot from this film.

The script was adapted to suit the cast