Shuri X Suda Masaki for Love At Least (2018)

Source: https://natalie.mu/eiga/pp/ikiai

Q: Shuri, where did you find attractive in this film?

Shuri: It's the energy of the script. I felt that if I play this character, I might be able to understand someone, and maybe, someone would understand me.

Suda Masaki: There are many people like that. At least (singer-songwriter) Ishizaki Huwie said, "Tsunagi is too hard for me. I was floored." That's the biggest compliment.

Shuri: Really? I want to talk to him. Please tell him for me (lol).

Q: Suda, you said that when you read the script, it would be a movie that your generation will think “well done!”. Do you remember the decisive factor for the appearance?

Suda: I thought it was "current issue". It's a movie that people living in the present should make in this era where the speed of change is very fast.

Q: I see. Although I cannot read Tsunagi's feelings at first, his impressions change little by little. Didn't you need delicate acting when shooting?

Suda: Even if you talk this way, you don't really know who I am at that moment. I wonder if such a feeling should always be there. I'm sure that people who are watching it will initially feel that "Tsunagi is timid". Gradually, you will think "No, is this a problem for him?" "Is there something that I (viewer) might have?". I think it was the role of Tsunagi to make the viewers feel like they were not someone else.

Shuri: Although he doesn't face deeply with himself, he acts like he's facing. Although it sometimes seems kind but sometimes hurt. But shooting the scenes with Tsunagi was fun.

Suda: It was interesting. In order to bring out the daily lives of the two people, Tsunagi try not to be overwhelmed by each behaviour of Yasuko.

Suda: It was a relationship like a boxer and a punching bag.

Shuri: That's right (lol).

Q: Shuri, I felt that you were going to be exhausted due to the scene that Yasuko screamed and ran out. How was the shooting?

Shuri: I thought that should be considerably exhaust me, but it was actually fun. Perhaps it was because I was able to be as Yasuko (lol). Every scene was fun! I ended up feeling like that. After the shoot, I went home and did some laundry and stay healthy.

Q: Are you a type that does not play a role in real life?

Shuri: True.

Suda: Even though I play a role, it's my own, so it can affect the daily life to a considerable extent. There are times when I'm doing something for a role, such as making a body change or trying to sleep a little. In this movie, when I meet my parents, I was told that I'm not playing a hard role right now.

Shuri: During the filming period, there was a moment when I thought that I would have been screaming if I were Yasuko even in everyday life.

Suda: It's tough to continue. Because my own sense is in the base, the line of sight and the role cause a gap, and I cannot objectively see it. Sometimes, I have to do something that reminds me of my feelings.

Note: In the film, there is a scene of Yasuko standing naked on the roof. There are colorful neon lights and flags fluttering with the wind around, creating a very artistic space. In the entire dark background, the roof is illuminated by the basic colors blue and red, and the outlines of the faces of the two are clearly visible. Through the close-up of the face, the subtle changes in the facial expressions of the two are clearly shown. And the roof is no longer simply a place of life, but has evolved into a stage where Yasuko opens up and dances freely.

Taking this scene as the dividing line, a spiritual bond between the two who once seemed to be in two parallel lines. It is precisely because they are in an illusory space that they can communicate with each other.

"I can't be separated from myself in my whole life. And you? You should feel very happy to be separated from me."

"I" and "me" can't be separated in a lifetime, and "me" and "you" will be separated someday. For them, the moment they understand this truth is like a dreamlike moment, and everything suddenly becomes clear. At the end of the film, Yasuko kept dancing, as if celebrating her self out of darkness.

In the future journey of life, we may fall into the phase of life just like them, but don't be afraid of the dark, as long as we go forward bravely, we can survive.