Hirokazu Koreeda -- Contemporary Japanese Filmmaker Extraordinaire

I apologize for not writing an entry last week. To make it up, I am going to push out two huuuuge entries this week!!! (or possbly three, depending on time)

NYC is known for many things, one of which is performing arts. Great shows are playing on Broadway every day, and there are always opportunities to catch off-Broadway plays and theater troupe performances. Sometimes you may bump into a celebrity or two, or have the chance to walk in as an extra on a film set.

Years ago when I was in college, my Japanese teacher screened a couple of Japanese language films in order to show us her country's culture. One of my favorites is a movie titled "After Life". It is a profound film dealing with life and death. People who have died are held temporarily at this dormitory-like place before heading to their afterlives. There they were given a week to choose one memory that they would carry with them. After the person selects his/her memory, the staff at this "rest stop" create props and film it, with the person as the star of his/her own memory. At the end of the week, everyone in the group gathers to watch a screening of all of these memories before disappearing to whatever's waiting for them beyond.

This film moved me in ways I cannot describe. It transformed a very delicate subject (death) into something ... tangible, easily grasped. It soothes the human fear of death by asking a "What if" -- What if you can take one memory with you, which would you choose? In other words, how would you want to be remembered? How do you want to remember yourself?

It was a very creative and original idea, and it all came from one of the best contemporary Japanese film directors -- Hirokazu Koreeda. (For a Quick Biography, see here: Hirokazu Koreeda on Wikipedia)

When watching a Koreeda film, one will always expect a story that has to do with death or anticipate some sort of social commentary. His cinematography is also unique in that he likes to take many still shots of beautiful scenery and use these shots to convey certain emotions or thoughts. Koreeda is also prone to use unknown actors/non-actors and allow them to improvise their dialogues. This gives the films a very raw but very realistic feel, making it easy to emotionally attach to the characters and the stories.

I am lucky enough to be in the presence of Koreeda this past weekend (I have been blessed with Greatness many times this year! Awesome!) The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Rose Cinemas is hosting a Koreeda Film Retrospective this week, showcasing all of his works (including the documentaries made BEFORE he became a film director) in reverse chronological order. (For more information, see this link: BAMcinematek | The Films of Hirokazu Kore-eda) Koreeda was present during two of the film screenings for Q&A sessions. I attended both sessions and I am so glad I did. I will now give a summary of each.

The first film in the Koreeda Retrospective is 2008's "Aruitemo Aruitemo", titled "Still Walking" for the western markets. This film actually runs on quite a different rhythm than other Koreeda works. For one, this movie is hilarious. The story centers around a family who gathered together in memoriam of the eldest son during his death anniversary. The main character, second son Ryota, travels back home with his new wife and step-son. Ryota is constantly a subject of criticism as his parents always compare him with his deceased brother Junpei. Ryota therefore hates family reunions, but he attends for courtesy's sake (and to purposely spite his parents, in my opinion...) The film moves to portray Ryota's inner conflicts and his struggles to separate himself from (the memories of) his brother. It is difficult to say if Ryota's parents ever acknowledged Ryota as an individual (and not as a lesser version of Junpei) but at the very least, Ryota came to terms with the fact that he can't really change how his parents think, but he himself can deal with how he reacts to his parents' feelings (or flaws).

At the Q&A session, Koreeda told us that this film is mainly about a traditional Japanese family. He explained that his mother passed away about four years prior from an illness. Before that, he and his siblings had logs and journals of their interactions with their sick mother. Koreeda was inspired by these journals (his mother's words) and created "Still Walking". He said that he took a lot of the dialogues straight from the journals. He incorporated what his mother did (down to her recipes!) into this film and it really shows.

I could definitely relate to the film as most mothers behave in similar ways (as Koreeda said himself that many people, including Westerners, came up to him after watching the film and said that the film reminded them of their own mothers... that mothers tend to behave in similar ways, such as: "Do you have enough money in the bank?" even though you are a grown adult.)

It is also why the film is funny -- it constantly reminds us of what our mothers would say in the same situation. I think Koreeda portrayed this very well and it is great that he hit on something that people the world over has in common (mom's nagging).

I don't want to talk too much about the film here (okay... I know I already said too much), but I do want to plug the flim for Koreeda. "Still Walking" opens this Friday, August 28th in selected theaters. Since Koreeda films are usually classified as indie/arthouse, I am guessing it will be screened at some obscure theater... but anyway, check it out if you can. I highly recommend this film. = )

Interesting facts:

> Koreeda said that more French people watch his film than Japanese people. Regarding this, he says: "I guess I should try working harder on this [getting Japanese people to watch his films]...".

> Koreeda said that he didn't intend on adding death to this film. He had an idea of a family gathering. Since the film was shot in the summer, he couldn't really say that the family gathering took place during New Year (a Japanese tradition). He then decided they came together to remember a dead family member. Then he worked from there to develop who died, and shaped other family members' personalities around this.

> Koreeda stated that this is the most "scripted" film in his filmography. Everything was pretty much scripted (a rarity of a Koreeda film). The only improvised portions would be the children who were playing in the background, which sometimes ruined the more serious adult scenes.



Next post -- Koreeda's "Nobody Knows" (Dare mo Shiranai) + Pictures