Tsuyoshi Aoki (Sousuke Ikematsu), who has an only son, Gaku(8) , lost his wife to illness and moved to Seoul, where his estranged brother (Joe Odagiri) lives. . as if to escape from Japan.
He was told by his older brother that he had a job in Korea, but his brother's life was not what he had imagined, as he was poor and living on a day-to-day basis. He could barely speak Korean, but he had to help his brother import and sell suspicious-looking cosmetics.
Meanwhile, Choi Seol (Choi Hee Soo), a talent in Seoul whose only job is to sing songs that no one hears on the market stage, is in a relationship with the president of her agency, but is troubled by the environment in which she cannot sing her own songs and her relationships with her brother and sister that do not work out.
But then they do not yet know .
Aoki, his brother, and his sisters, who failed in business, and Sol, his brother, and his sisters, who were played by the capitalist society - two families that had hit rock bottom, walked through their destiny together, and witnessed a miracle....
. the big barriers of country, race, and so on, have been overcome by small but strong relationships between individuals.
In your book, "Film Direction: A Personal Research Project," you mention that the film was made over a long period of time and through a rigorous process. Was the filming also very difficult?
Odagiri:I'm a mid-career participant. So I don't know much about the difficult process. Ikematsu, I think you spent a lot of time with Director Ishii from the beginning.
Ikematsu:I'm not sure if I'm going to make it. I have been through many times where it was like that . I don't have much at the level of what I can talk about, ...... sorry (laughs).
I heard that the schedule was pushed back a number of times.
Ikematsu:Once a Korean crew was selected, they were unable to participate due to Japan-Korea relations, and the significance and interest of the film in our view did not mesh with what the Korean side insisted on. . I think the language barrier, cultural differences, history, and the relationship between the two countries had a lot to do with it. . It took a lot of time until we could fix the script and the project. When it came to the final form of "depicting the interactions between a Japanese family and a Korean family," I decided that Mr. Odagiri was the only person I could ask to be my brother, so I decided to ask him to do it, even if it was a no-brainer. He replied, "I'll do it! and everyone was thrilled (laughs). (Laughs) So an angel called Mr. Odagiri descended upon us.
Odagiri:The script was interesting, and it had been a long time since I had seen a film directed by Ishii, and I had originally heard about this project and was interested in it. I didn't expect to be asked, so I was very happy.
Ikematsu:After Mr. Odagiri's participation was decided, there was a flurry of activity. There were many troubles waiting for us after that, and then there was the super-duper new coronavirus to top it all off. Such was the situation, and it was quite hard.
Ikematsu-san, have you been working closely with the director since the beginning of the project?
Ikematsu:Production, or rather, I have been in dialogue with Mr. Ishii about this film from early on, and he has shared the situation with me in detail, and I feel that I have given him my opinion. . I have shared many films and time with Mr. Ishii, but I am not aware that I did anything special with him. As for this project, Mr. Park Jung-beom, the producer on the Korean side, was a big part of it. Mr. Ishii and Mr. Park met 6 years ago and have developed a friendship like soul mates.
I was introduced to Mr. Ishii 5 years ago and we met , and from there we became close. Mr. Park came to Japan, we went to Korea, and we had several years of exchanges. So, the process of making this film itself overcame such big barriers as country, race, coronavirus, and so on, through small but strong ties between individuals. There are many aspects of your relationship with Mr. Park in your life that are reflected in the film.
We had some fights, you know (laughs).
. I feel that this is a story about overcoming great obstacles through the solidarity of individuals. . I feel that this is a story that goes along with the theme of the film.
Ikematsu:Yes, it is. It just happened to be Japan and Korea, or Japanese and Korean, but it is not a story that began with the nation as the main subject. It started with Mr. Ishii and Ms. Park meeting, and although it took some time, only those who truly resonated with each other came together, and the film took shape. I believe this is the reason why this film has acquired a strength that goes beyond being a friendship movie between countries.
Odagiri:In the process of having the staff and cast from two different countries struggle to reach a goal with a single script as a guidepost, a stronger relationship is created than in Japan. People from different countries are working toward the same goal at the same time, and the shared awareness becomes more and more intense. This is something you can feel only when you participate in international productions, and I think there were many such moments in this project. The Korean staff gave 120% of their effort for Director Ishii, and all the actors kept their motivation high as they worked on the film.
Ikematsu:There are many positive aspects to making a film across national borders, but there are also many difficulties. First of all, the languages and cultures are different. The basic human senses and desires are the same, but the ways of expressing them are different, and the process and speed of reaching something are different. From judging whether something is good or bad, to how things proceed on site, there are many aspects that are different from the norm.
. Were there any moments when you were deeply involved with the cast and crew?
Odagiri:We had some fights, you know (laughs).
Ikematsu:(Laughter)
What, a fight?
Odagiri:It wasn't us, but Korean actors got into a fight with each other. I guess it's a little different from a fight. It was a disagreement about the play. We talked to each other and made up (laughs). (Laughs.) If it were in Japan, I think they would have said, "You can do whatever you want! (Laughs). If it had been in Japan, I would have said, "You can do whatever you want," but because we are a team that transcends national borders, we naturally decided to talk together.
Ikematsu:I did what I could, but when I saw Mr. Odagiri consulting with the Korean family and following up with them during the car ride, I thought how kind he was.
Odagiri:Ikematsu stayed up until midnight discussing things with me. I got a bit annoyed and left in the middle of the meeting (laughs).
Ikematsu:There were nights like that (laughs ))
