On December 7, Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa attended the 2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival Master Carnival, hosted by Xu Kuangci, a veteran film critic and curator in Hong Kong, China. At the event, Kurosawa Not only shared his creative experience since the film, but also behind the scenes of the filming of his latest work "The End of the Journey, the Beginning of the World".
This article is compiled from the transcript of The Master's Carnival by Kiyoshi Kurosawa:
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > "For me, as long as I can make movies, I am very happy."
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In 1980, still in the film era, Kurosawa's "Imprisoned Gakuen" shot on 8 mm film won an award at the PFF PIA Film Festival, which became the starting point for him to start making films.
"Making movies was very difficult in my time, when there were no digital films, and one of the ways for young people to make movies was to use 8mm film.
Film costs a lot of money, not to say that you can shoot if you want to shoot, this is a very professional job, there are many people involved, and movies are not possible for ordinary people to shoot.
For me, as long as I can shoot a movie, it is a very happy thing, and I have to shoot it when I have the opportunity. But it's not so easy to get into the field of commercial films, and I've gone through a very difficult process, doing a lot of various jobs before I got a chance to shoot commercial films. At that time, only the pink film genre could shoot commercial films on a very low budget, which was a very fortunate thing for me.
At that time, the budget for shooting was also very small, for example, my debut work was a 70-minute commercial film, and the shooting date was only three days. "Girl's Adventures in Wonderland" will have a higher budget, but it will only have a week to shoot.
My experience is to try to do what I want to do, but to make sure that my work is done within the budget and shooting date, and to use my talents or ideas within this range. Even if I shoot some works with relatively high budgets now, shooting movies in a relatively short time period and budget range is an obligation that I must abide by.
Even within a large budget range, not everything can be done, everything has a limit, we have to fight the limit, in the limit to maximize my talent and fully reflect my creativity, this is one of my characteristics. ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the experience of studying film in the United States
In 1992, Kiyoshi Kurosawa received a scholarship from the Sundance Society for best original film screenplay "The Amazing Tree" and then went to the United States to study film production.
"I love American movies and have always thought that if only I could make American movies. Because my first film was done with minimal freedom, I felt that American cinema was very different from my shooting method, and if I could superimpose the shooting methods I learned in Japan and what I learned in the United States, it would be of great help to my future film career. So when I went to the United States, I learned a lot about american filmmaking methods.
In fact, I don't study and appreciate any genre, American cinema is a big genre for me. I loved action movies, horror movies, and suspense movies when I was young, and I always wanted to try shooting. But how do I make these types of films in Japan?
I think it needs to be deliberated, otherwise under the influence of Japanese culture, we will not be able to directly transfer the American shooting method to Japan. I've tried to make some films in the U.S., but it's going to feel a little bit unsmooth, so I feel like I'm going to make some adjustments to the genre of American movies and shoot them in a way that's acceptable to the Japanese. ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > filming "X Holy Rule" refers to "The Silence of the Lambs"
After absorbing the essence of American commercial films, Kurosawa Kiyoshi returned to China to shoot the horror crime film "X Sacred Rule", which made him famous.
Using hypnosis as a clue, the film deeply analyzes the dark humanity displayed by the criminal police in the process of pursuing the suspect, and the cold and alienated picture images create a gloomy and depressing film atmosphere, which is considered to be a representative work of pioneering Japanese horror films.
"It seemed to me to be a thriller, so I shot it the Japanese way, and I referenced the American film 'The Silence of the Lambs' at the time, and I really liked it myself, so I wondered if I could make it the Japanese way.
But when it came to actual shooting, I took a completely different approach to American cinema. There are also some limitations on Japanese films, simply put, many scenes in the film are completed with a single shot.
At that time, there was also a Taiwanese director who used this shooting method, and the Greek director Angelopoulos, these two directors were also my own favorite directors, and I felt that I was greatly influenced.
In terms of results, this work was very well evaluated, but I think that when it was first filmed, it did not belong to American films, nor did it belong to the horror films that were traditionally considered at that time, it was a very difficult to classify film, and it just happened to become the so-called pioneering work of Japanese horror films. ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > coexistence space in Journey to the Shore
The films of Greek director Angelopoulos had a great influence on Kurosawa Kiyoshi, in Anzhe's films, the past and the present will exist in the same space, and the same situation will occur in Kurosawa's works, such as in the movie "Journey to the Shore", dead people and living people appear in the same space.
"When writing a film script, the director's freedom is very high, and there will be a lot of time and space to create a story. But when shooting, we can only photograph what can be presented in front of us, and we can only represent these things, in fact, there will be a contradiction and limitation. How do we break through these limitations?
I think there are a lot of ghosts in my work, and these ghosts may be terrible, but they reflect the reality that has been carried in the past.
So I do a lot of these challenges in filmmaking, like getting the dead to appear suddenly. If the dead are a very scary image, it becomes a horror movie. But it can also be a very quiet, peaceful ghost. In this way, the feeling of coexistence between the dead and the living is expressed as much as possible. ”
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > tokyo sonatas back to family issues
Family, especially the relationship between husband and wife, is an element that often appears in Kurosawa Kiyoshi's films, whether it is the tokyo sonata that returns to the realistic style or the suspenseful atmosphere of "Creepy", Kurosawa Kiyoshi tries to explore the contradictions and problems that exist within the family.
"The Tokyo Sonata is not a film that started from scratch. When I was at the Venice Film Festival, I met a Hong Kong producer who wanted to work with me and asked if I could make a movie about a family of four in Tokyo.
Some of the advice and suggestions of friends, which I think are very important, are very valuable to the creation of my films.
Many of the films I make are about two couples, which happens to be a very important theme for me. Why is that? The biggest reason is because I happen to live in Tokyo and I live together as a couple, so I am willing to address the problem of the couple, the problem of the family, for me, it is a problem that is around me, and it is also a problem that the audience will care about. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" >'s latest work, The End of the Journey, the Beginning of the World
This year, At the invitation of a friend, Kurosawa Kiyoshi went to Uzbekistan to shoot the film "The End of the Journey, the Beginning of the World" to meet Chinese audiences at the festival of this year's Hainan International Film Festival.
Made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Uzbekistan, the film differs from traditional tribute films, where Kurosawa Kiyoshi expresses the exchange and alienation of people under cultural differences through the perspective of location host Leaf (Atsuko Maeda).
"Uzbekistan is not a very familiar country for the Japanese, and when my friend invited me to shoot, I felt that this work was very different from my previous works, which was a big influence on me.
I've shot a lot of films in the past, most of which have been in which producers come to me with scripts and ask me if I want to make a movie, but this time it was different, and it was a friend who contacted me and asked if I was interested in making a movie in Uzbekistan. He said he had a story that he hoped could be written into a script and then made into a movie, and I thought that was a very good idea.
Female journalists have experienced a lot of unexpected settings abroad, from my personal experience, there are many such variety shows in Japan, and I myself like to watch them very much. So I was thinking that if the heroine was a variety show host and was sent to a foreign country to shoot without knowing anything about foreign countries, there would naturally be a lot of accidents during this period, so I added my life experience as a plot element to this work.
I've been doing movies for many years, and I've done a lot of things I want to do, but there are still a lot of things I want to do when I'm young, but at this age, I can't do it a little, so in the process of shooting, I will also project my regrets onto the heroine Leaf.
The actress who plays Yezi, Atsuko Maeda, does not know whether everyone is familiar with it, she was originally a singer of a girl idol group, but she also entered the show business circle with the dream of becoming a movie actress at first, and as a result, she became a very famous idol singer.
But the identities of idol singers and actresses are different, and she is always working in the direction of actresses, so there are many overlaps between Leaf and Atsuko Maeda.
There is also a theater in the film, which is a very famous tourist attraction in the local area, which was built with the help of the Japanese and is a symbol of the friendly relations between Japan and Uzbekistan.
The producer told me that the Uzbek side wanted to have this theater in the movie, so I wanted to use it as a scene in the movie. How to use this theater? It occurred to me that my protagonist could sing in the theater. Because the protagonist's dream is to become a singer, it is just a good idea to use this theater to show her singing voice. ”
The Master Carnival also invited young Chinese directors such as Wang Chong, Qiu Sheng, Xiao Yang and other young Chinese directors to conduct creative exchanges with Kurosawa Kiyoshi.
Wang Chong: Hello director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, I would like to ask a specific question, how will you shoot the scene of your dialogue with Xu Kuangci to convey the atmosphere of horror?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: This is a very interesting and very important question. Two people are talking right now, we can't shoot both of them in the face at the same time, which is an important point, two people can't be in one shot at the same time.
How to shoot, this has a lot to do with the director's shooting level and aesthetics. Let's say the two of us are sitting here, and if one of us is facing the camera with our backs to the camera, we have a fear of the unknown.
We can't see his expression on the opposite side, maybe he said very vicious things behind the camera, but we can't guess his emotions through expressions, and here it gives people an unknown feeling.
I said something bad behind the camera, but turned my face and smiled, so there would be a contrast. We as directors have to channel the audience's emotions and make them feel fearful.
Wang Chong: When you were shooting suspense films or horror films, did you ever have similar supernatural events?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: I'm often asked this question, I'm very sorry, in fact, I haven't encountered it myself, although we are shooting horror movies, but in fact, the atmosphere on the scene is very harmonious, everyone is smiling and working, in the process of shooting, it can be said that there is no such terrible experience at all.
Question: Do you scare yourself when you conceive of a horror plot? How do you decide that the plot is scary enough, scary enough, or that the final presentation in the movie is enough to convey to the audience?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: I shoot with a very calm attitude. But if the actor's acting skills are very good, his emotions will also infect me, and for the director, it is difficult to say whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.
I want to convey these emotions to the audience very directly, but ultimately what emotions the audience feels is their own.
Of course, when we shoot horror movies, the easiest way to make all the audience feel afraid is to put some very scary sounds, even if you don't look at the picture, just listen to that music will feel the emotions.
But I myself will not use too much of this method, the film still has to let the audience go to see, through the picture and other elements, so that the audience can have their own feelings at the first time.
So we can't rely on music to express these emotions, I think so. Film is a visual and auditory art, and we have to bring all the elements together, but my own work doesn't have to make all the audience feel the same emotion.
Xu Kuangci: In 1999, your "Desolate Illusion" was the most fantastic movie in the cinema, it was very quiet and depressing, did you intentionally use this method to increase the tension in the movie?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: This work is not actually a horror film, I think it is a very special experience for the audience.
For example, when we're in a quiet room, something suddenly falls and it feels terrible. So when I make horror films, I don't rely on music in particular, but I will minimize the sound, make the audience feel uneasy, and he will think about how the plot will develop later and why it will be so quiet. So sound can be used well and rationally, or it can be consciously not added sound, which is my technique.
Xiao Yang: Does the hypnosis in your "X Sacred Rule" really exist?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: This is a bit difficult to answer. Hypnosis actually exists and is used. It's an alternate, fictional film in which I use hypnosis in a very exaggerated and extreme way, but in reality hypnosis is not terrible, nor is it so simple to manipulate others, it is just a medical technique that guides others to have illusions.
Xiao Yang: Last year, there was a Japanese movie "Don't Stop the Camera", I don't know if you have seen it? Do you approve of this film, and what are your judgments and opinions about it?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: I've seen it and I enjoyed the movie very much. Low-budget, self-shooting, very interesting work from this category. In Japan, it was released on the same scale as commercial films, and it was very successful, and I think it was a very good movie, and it was a movie worth smiling. Have you seen this film too? What do you think of what you have seen?
Xiao Yang: I also especially like this film, last year when I knew about this film, I was filming in the United States, and when I finished watching it, I wanted to communicate with the American staff, and found that the staff in the United States had also watched it all, and they specifically agreed with a Japanese horror film for the first time, and suddenly the world was in the same place on this movie, I think it is very interesting, I personally like this movie very much. Whether it costs or not, I think it's the film director's brain hole that opens up an opening for such a genre film, and I think it's like this. Thank you!
Qiu Sheng: Your film sets are very distinctive, often using minimalist colors and decorations, I once thought that your films were set up, and then I watched the interview and found that most of them were live-action shooting. What are your reasons for this aesthetic choice? How to make the real scene and the set appear uniform?
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Thank you so much for being able to enjoy my film so meticulously. Most of my films are live-action, so why do you do that? Because I have a limited budget. Sometimes I also shoot in the background, but it is rare to have a scene. As I said just now, what is reflected in my film is the part that is not filmed outside, and it is also the part that the audience cares about and pays the most attention to.
"Creepy"
There may be a sky where there is nothing, or something very interesting appears outside the window, but it is not very clear, so that the audience is interested and curious. We'll put a lot of effort into the windows, which are some of my usual takeaways.
At the end of the event, Kiyoshi Kurosawa also gave some suggestions to the young director:
Everyone should have made a lot of works, and already have a certain reputation, I hope you can continue to work the road of film.
It's the digital age, so young directors will have their own style, their own themes, and at a young age like 30, they can present their own style through movies, and they have put a lot of effort into this road, and I think these young directors are very trustworthy and reliable.
Unfortunately, I'm not from the digital age, so I don't know much about the latest technology. Although I have made horror films, family films, and some films involving the underworld, young directors will be able to shoot more types of films, more freedom, and people can decide what kind of genre they want to make.
If you have the ability, or you can shoot a certain type, I think it's important to try to shoot first, because after shooting, there will be a desire to shoot more and shoot better.
When you are young (before the age of 40), you try to make as many types of films as possible, not necessarily defined or limited to a certain genre. I think when we were young, we had a lot of directions, and there may be some directions that you can't imagine yourself at all now, or you can't see, and I myself am an example of this.
In fact, under limited conditions, I went to shoot the film I could shoot. I believe that people have infinite possibilities, and movies are things that can bring out our possibilities like this, so I hope that everyone can challenge in various aspects. ”
END.
Posted/Co-produced:pmovie-learn