Chris and Kris Meet Kiyoshi Kurosawa
This weekend at the SFIAAF Kris and I attended some of the Kiyoshi Kurosawa Retrospective, and had about the best time ever. We saw three rarely screened Kiyoshi Kurosawa films (Eyes of a Spider, Serpent’s Path, and License to Live, all to be reviewed shortly), and actually got to meet Kurosawa in person! We had a brief and informal interview of sorts, and he was kind enough to sign our import copy of Loft (to be reviewed shortly as well), but I’ll forgo listing the actual details for now. Suffice it to say, Kurosawa’s amazingly humble, and was very kind to fans such as ourselves.
To tide you over until our Kurosawa article blitz, here are some things we learned from Kurosawa-san (forgive me for paraphrasing):
- Cardboard boxes are useful in depicting acts of random violence. They provide a pleasantly kinetic visual, while keeping the actors relatively safe
- He doesn’t really have a favorite film that he’s done. The thing is that sometimes he likes the films he makes, but other times he’ll find the same film he liked re-watching to be unwatchable at that point in time. Everyone’s their own worst critic.
- He met Koji Yakusho while casting for Cure. The two are the same age, so any time he needs a character that is roughly his age, Kurosawa likes to use him. That said, when you see Koji Yakusho in Kurosawa’s films, he’s not necessarily playing Kurosawa. Some prankster tendencies may carry over, but they are not exactly intentional.
- Working with Miki Nakatani on Loft was a joy. As Kurosawa put it, ‘She’s talented and intelligent’ so it makes her easy to work with.
- Sho Aikawa is a geek in real life. The character you see him portray in License to Live is essentially Sho Aikawa playing himself.
- He has the utmost respect for Tadanobu Asano. As Kurosawa put it, other actors become the characters they portray. Tadanobu Asano incorporates the characters he plays into himself. That’s why he’s such an amazing talent
That’s it for now. I’ll update this article tomorrow with a few more pictures from the festival and screenings.
