Moderator: Tell us about the relationship between you two.
Kishi: You might not remember, but you were the one who advised me to shoot a film.
Furusawa: You know what? I've just seen the film with all the audience, and as I watched it, I gradually began to think that I shouldn't have accepted the offer to join this talk show. Frankly, I didn't want to disturb everyone by ruining all the buzz and the pure feelings that they'd have right after the screening. I hope that they'll bring home their individual perspectives in a pure, good form. I'm a little nervous, but I'll do my best. ..Anyway, I needed to say this before I start.
K: Shall we start?
F: Yes. I think we first met in 2003, or 2004…..
K: I think it was 2003.
F: I met you when I was looking for actors for my first film, "Lost☆My Way". I accidently saw you performing on stage, and I fell in love with you immediately. It was a minor role, but luckily, I managed to have you in my film. We've been in a good relationship ever since. You were performing in this short play called… "Katsudon"(Fried pork and egg on top of a rice bowl) right?
K: Yes, I was. "Katudon". It was a simple duologue with a desk and two chairs on stage. Right after you saw the play, you said, "You should definitely make this into a movie!"
S: It was a collection of short plays right?
K: Yes, it was a collection of 6 short plays. And one of them was "Katsudon".
S: Right. If my memory is correct, it was a 30-40 minute play. But to tell you the truth, I don't remember saying to you to make it into a movie. You gave me an e-mail afterwards and said you've made a film out of the play "Katsudon", and that there is going to be a preview. You invited me to it, so I went. When was that?
K: I think it was 2004.
F: Right. It was in the beginning of 2004. I saw the film "Katsudon" and I was pretty shocked. I mean…my definition of a film had totally collapsed…I mean, I didn't even know whether you'd call that a film or not. I was bewildered to see such film screened in the corner of Tokyo left unknown. Something that doesn't exist in the real world was inside the film. When I saw it, I immediately thought, "This director can see them(sense them)."
I was thinking that it would be nice to move on to the "Record Future" by recalling all those memories, and actual feelings that I had back then.
K: You once invited me to your talk show, and you let me screen "Katsudon" on that occasion. I think we talked about that subject there too.
F: Yes. I sometimes shoot horror films and ghost stories, but I myself have nothing to do with inspirations. I don't have any of those abilities. I just enjoy them as a fiction. When I make a film, I mostly try to recreate the movie that I enjoyed during my childhood. But when I saw you're film I somehow thought that you are the kind of person who has the ability to sense supernatural. Two years ago, there was this gathering which I hosted, and I had Mr.Kishi as a guest for the talk show. I had "Katsudon" screened there too. It was a talk show on stage, so we had this brief meeting before the show, and there, you confessed that you have the ability to sense the supernatural.
K: Before that, I was talking to Mr.Miyake( the director of "Nanatsu made ha Kami nouchi" 2011) in person. He was also the member of the talk show, and we decided to talk about that subject without your permission.
F: Yes. Mr.Miyake. He is a director, and a screenwriter. He is famous for his horror movies, and I think he's the pioneer in that area. He also has the ability to sense supernatural. One day, before the day of that talk show, I went to see your play. It was an interesting play about committing suicide. After the performance, I ran into you at the lobby and I said, "Mr.Kishi! Great play!" and then you said, "The theatre was all packed today." So I said, "What? No, it wasn't, actually." "Well, I saw them all from the stage. Maybe it's because of the play. It's about committing suicide. They're so interested in that kind of subjects." You said it in a way…..so…
K: Like it was nothing, right? Like it's an ordinary thing that happens every day.
F: Yes! And at that moment I thought, "I was right about him."
K: You were convinced.
F: Yes I was. I had this vague impression of you at first, but then, it gradually became vivid and clear. I've started to learn who you really are. A man named Kentarou Kishi. And I became pretty cautious. I had this feeling that I shouldn't mess with you.
K: Yeah, right.
F: But I felt that I was starting to fill in the puzzle one by one. I consider you as a writer. You as an actor performing on stages, you as a writer, you as a director making films, are all combined and reflected on your work of art. Your presence and every little word you say are the fragments of you that help us get close to your work. You inspire me every time I see you. So.. it's really hard where to start talking.. I saw this film ("Record Future") at home first, and then, I saw it on the screen today for the first time. I had this impression that all the characters in this film are "existent". To make it clearer, I'd say that all the characters in this film each have a certain model in the real world. In other words, the characters might be 100% based on a fiction, but, it seems like they really exist. I felt that pretty often while I was watching this movie. For example, this is just a trivial matter, but where the boy who committed suicide…….
K: Kousuke
F: Yes, Kousuke. Osamu and Kousuke's father visit the free school, and after the big fight, Kousuke's father gets out of the house so fiercely. He bumps into the sliding doors so violently, that the window screen breaks. After that… you know where Osamu fixes the window screen?
K: Yes.
F: That moment I thought, "This man lives inside the true moments." I have the tendency to respond to all these tiny little details, but this kind of moments were scattered everywhere in the movie, and it took my breath away. So it occurred to me that this is not a mere fiction, ….well, this might be an extreme expression…..but, this movie might have the magnet power to draw the people who don't exist in this world, and then, it turns them into characters who actually exist. Maybe I felt that way because, I know you pretty well. So, the foundations that lie underneath all the scenes were so real. Everything was so existent.
K: Wow….I mean, I've already told you this before the show, but I have so many things that can only be shared with you. You're absolutely right, I wanted to shoot something that I didn't expect to shoot. I think it would be great if I could create something inside people's minds by letting them watch the film. Something beyond existence. For me, a film is like a ritual to make that happen. It's kind of like a paper work that has to be done before you invite them all in.
F: Yes, Yes.
K: You've mentioned what you've just said in the message you gave me when my film was screened in a theatre for the first time.
F: Yees, I did.
K: It was something like, "He must have gone through some ritual to invite [them] in"
F: Right.
K: When I saw that message, I was like, "Oh my god!!". I was so happy to find someone who understood that. Actually, my scripts are rather complicated. For example, I write things like, "We invite ----in order to do ----and ---- . This movie is a ritual to invite them in." on the scripts, and I'm always pretty serious about those things.
F: Really.
K: Yes. But I think most of the people don't understand that. So, I am so happy to find someone I could really talk to. It's usually hard for me to take up the subject.
F: I think it's partly because of my history, that I'm capable of talking about these issues with you. What I mean is that I've known you and I've been watching you ever since I met you. Like I said before, my motive for making movies were based on my memories watching fun movies as a child. I wanted to remake them with my own hands. So for me, the desire for making films are much alike to those the children's have when they play with toys. It was very simple. When I actually started my career as a director, I was having fun making films in a playful mood, but recently, I always have this weird feeling when I'm finished with my films. I feel like I've invited something in. Even though I'm doing the same old stuff and haven't changed how I work. I discuss with the staff and the actors about the scene I want to shoot, work out plans, and proceed. It's nothing spiritual about them, but I suddenly find out at this certain moment, that a certain movement of my hand, for example, turns into a ritual and that it inhabits a magnetic power of some kind. There's something magical about art, and I especially feel that in the theatre company "Oiscale[Saigo]" you take part in.
K: Indeed. I believe that acting has a spiritual element.
F: I think you are especially aware of those things. I'm not saying that it is some exaggerating ritual to invite ghosts, but something that triggers people's memories. Memories that don't belong to anybody.
K: I always feel that there have to be some ritual elements in movies and plays, no matter what category they're in. This goes to any kind of movie, such as comedy, drama, and so forth. Movies can be divided clearly into two groups. Whether they are made as a ritual, or not. I got involved in movies as an actor at the beginning, and even as an actor, this idea about movie being a ritual is true to me. From the audience's point of view, it is something that exists far away from them, and something that lies behind the screen. It's hard to say, but it's about approaching something that you can never reach. In the primitive age, the maidens in the service of a shrine, used to be actors. People who spoke on behalf of god, were the first actors in Japanese history. So I think that the actors must always leave space for something that is beyond themelves. I always keep that in mind when I work as an actor. When I shot "Record Future", I was also in charge of the camera. Even when I was holding the camera, I tried to be like a lightning rod, and be open to whatever is coming. I often use the word "Joubutu"(A word that describes a process to attain Buddha-hood) to express this phenomenon that something passes through my body when I'm acting.
F: When we think about these magnetic powers and the idea of "Joubutu", it's beyond explanation and hard to say exactly what their result is. It can never be described in an easy equation. It's a sensitive issue, and each person has their own ideas. In a sense, we can say that this movie is about "them" recalling the memories they have lost. Or, if you
refer to the title, you might can say that this movie is a story about the people who experience their future that is not suppose to happen yet. Either way is possible. We can say that the audience "got involved" in the movie. Like I said before, those characters seemed so real that it might be better to say, "the audience got involved with the incident that took place inside the screen". I imagine that you'd go through the same kind of experiences in the future. Something might happen to you that you are not even aware of, and for the people who saw the film, something ineffable might occur to their minds and never disappear. Usually, we can exchange our own opinions casually after we see a movie, saying, "I like the part where…"or "I didn't understand the part where…..", but according to this movie, it is beyond that. It's an extraordinary movie that can make your life change after you see it. Well, I guess everyone saw it today, so…..I might even forget that I saw this movie tomorrow morning. This memory can be erased. Somebody might ask you, "You were in Shinjuku last night weren't you?" and you say, "What?", and suddenly all the images of the movie starts flashing inside your head. And you start thinking, "Did I see a film last night? Did I?" This movie inhabits so much power.
K: I'm listening to your story, and I'm feeling strange. It's like you talking on behalf of me. You're saying all the things I had in my mind before I shot the film. All the dreams and images for this movie. And you do it so well. So much better than me.
F: Maybe I can be your private critic.
K: Yes, you're description is better than anybody else.
F: Well, please let me know when you need me. I'll always be there. Um, I'm sorry, have we got carried away? Everybody with us? Are we doing fine?
K: I think we're doing fine, aren't we?
F: If you have something you want us to talk about, shoot.
Moderator: More and more people are coming to theatres to see this movie more than once. In that case, what do you think they should focus on? In order to make this movie more interesting?
F: There's one hint inside this movie, which helps you to understand this movie more deeply.
There's a line in the beginning of the story that says, "Everyone goes through death twice". One is their physical death, and the second one is the death of their memory.
K: When people disappears from other people's memory.
F: I think that there is a third…..
K: A third death??
F: Well, let's just say that this is a "ghost story". There's always a person who owns the memory right? For example, I recall the memory, Mr.Kishi recalls a memory. Inside the movie, Osamu recalls a memory, Sachi recalls a memory. But I thought that there might be some memory that nobody owns. The memory itself just lies there, all by itself. And that might be the thing, what people call, "the ghost". So, you can see this movie from a different perspective, if you try to figure out who owns the memory the movie depicts as you see it. Think about the last duologue for instance. Two people are talking, but they're off-screen. You might want to think, "Are these people real? Or are they both dead?" Those lines sound so different if you see it that way.
K: Wow, that is a great proposition.
F: You think so?
K: Yes. I have nothing to say! You've said it all!
F: This is my second time to see the film, and I've known you for quite a while. That means I have more information about you more than the people who have just become to know you. I hope many people come to see this film again and again. I think it'll sound different every time you see it. It doesn't have to be during this open period, it could be anytime. When you experience a watershed moment in your life, see this movie again, and you will see it from a different perspective. So, this movie is like a "mirror", in a sense.
K: My god, you surprise me. You must have been the director.
F: No way.
K: No, really.
F: It just makes me want to talk, you know? Your movie makes us feel that it's our own movie, and makes us feel like talking about it as our own private thing. We don't search for the intentions of the director, instead we talk about the movie from our own perspectives. Your film enables us to do so. You made me talk too much today. I didn't think I'd be so excited. It was interesting.
- Takeshi Furusawa
- Born in 1972. He started making films with his 8 millimeter camera when he was in high school. He has received a Best Screenplay Award at the PFF(Pia Film Festival) in 1997 for his movie "Home Sweet Movie". In the same year, he has made a film titled "Obieru(Frightened)" as a graduation project at his film school where he attended, and it was invited to the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival. Afterwards, he has worked as an assistant director for directors such as, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takahisa Zeze, Shinji Aoyama, and also wrote scripts for movies such as "Chou-Gokudou(Super-Hoodlumism/01)" directed by Takahisa Zeze, and "Doppelganger(02)" directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. He made his first full-length feature in 2004 called "Lost☆My Way". In 2006, his first major film "Otoshimono(The Lost Article)" was released in theatres. His latest film is "Avec Punch" that Mr.Kishi participates as an actor.
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