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Koji Yakusho interview about "SILK" January 28, 2008 (Mainichi weekly) Global Stage Yakusho Koji, who acts in the internationally produced film Silk, says he wants to create Japanese movies that people throughout the world can appreciate. "Basically, I want to place myself in the Japanese film industry and produce the kind of works that will allow people all over the world to enjoy Japanese films," he told the Mainichi Weekly in an exclusive interview.When asked about the highlights of Silk, which portrays a love affair that spans East and West, Yakusho, 52, praised the elegant music by Academy Award‐winning musician Sakamoto Ryu‐ichi. He recommended that people see the film on a big screen. Silk is set in 19th century France. After disease threatens to wipe out a village's silkworm colony, the central character, Herve Joncour, played by Michael Pitt, travels to Japan seeking silkworms that produce the world's most beautiful silk. There, his heart is captured by a beautiful woman, played by Ashina Sei, altering his destiny. The woman happens to be the concubine of an influential figure, Hara Jubei, who is portrayed by Yakusho. "He is a man who speaks English during a period in which illicit trade with foreign countries was forbidden, but he doesn't necessarily think it's good for a foreign culture to enter Japan. In one sense I played the part as a man who was looking hard at the future of Japan," Yakusho says, describing his role. When choosing the setting and characters of the film, Yakusho says he repeatedly held discussions with director Francois Girard to bring reality to his role as a Japanese person living in that age and to the relations between the Japanese actors. 「自分の人生と照らし合わせて感じる映画を」 The actor has appeared in several films by foreign directors, including Babel, which was nominated for a best picture Academy Award, and "Memoirs of A Geishia." But apparently he believes that Japanese films form the axis of his work. "From the perspective of my own life, I've got to make films that enable people to feel something," he says. "Japanese films are now trying hard and succeeding commercially, but it's got to go farther than that; we've got to make films that people will also be able to enjoy several years later. If we don't do this, audiences will thin out, which could lead to the re-emergence of an age when there aren't enough viewers." Yakusho believes that the value of Japanese films lies in their resourcefulness under limited cast numbers and constrained budgets. He appears keen to play his own part in the development of Japanese cinema. When asked for tips on how to work with foreign actors and directors, Yakusho said it was important to interact with the aim of achieving a common goal. "Even if the other person is a foreigner, greeting them as a fellow human being is a fundamental approach," he said. "It's important to interact as a friend working toward a common goal, creating a single thing. If you do that, your communication will go deeper. When it comes to English, I work to familiarize myself with the lines I have been given." ■「心を込めて役作りを」 When asked what drove him on as an actor, Yakusho replied, "To pour your whole heart into it. If you don't have your whole heart in it at each and every moment, I'm sure you won't have the energy to go on. If you don't think carefully and become 'desperate,' you probably won't be able to produce anything good." |