Q: This is a film related to the real world of Japan. Matsuzaka, when you accepted the film. What attracted you?
Matsuzaka: I want to work with Shim Eun Kyung, who plays the role of the journalist Yoshioka, and director Fujii Michihito. This is the first reason. At the same time, I just want to play Sugihara Takumi who works for the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office.
Q: Are there any worries and fears?
Matsuzaka: I have thought about the impact on my acting career on this kind of political work. However, this is not a film aimed at the politicians. "Is what happened before my eyes really truth? It is very important to have a pair of eyes that can distinguish and see clearly." It is a film describing about this. After watching the film, I felt this firsthand, so I was fortunate to have participated.
Q: Director Fujii also challenged a theme that is accompanied by danger in a sense.
Fujii: Actually I refused it twice. At first, the characters in the script are with their real names. I replied to the producers, "This script can't be filmed, just change it to a fictional one." I want to make a film that portrays the troubles of the bureaucracy and the justice of the journalist... "Organization" and "Individual" are a story about people, and ask the audience which side is right. It is such a movie. I said that if I want to make such a movie, then I can challenge it.
Q: Why did you refuse it again?
Fujii: That was... purely because of lack of confidence. I am not familiar with politics, nor am I a frequent reader of newspapers. I am a novice film director who is no different from the young people now, so I felt very scared before I made any criticisms of people who understand politics. But after deciding to shoot, this fear disappeared. If I was hesitant, I would not be able to explain to Matsuzaka and the others what kind of movie I wanted to make, so I started with a thorough investigation of journalists and bureaucrats.
Matsuzaka: It's like that.
Fujii: Yes. Depicting how people at two extremes exist as an "individual" in coherent pressure of organization, I think this is the most important theme this time. This is not just a topic of politics. To question people how to survive as "individuals" in society, I wanted to make such a work, so I thoroughly investigated the two extreme opinions, and proposed to the actors "I hope you can perform (the role) as a person."
Q: Why is Matsuzaka interested in Director Fujii?
Matsuzaka: I heard from Hamada Gaku and other actors that I know saying "I worked with Director Fujii, it was so interesting." So I wanted to work together. When I actually entered the scene, both the director and the photographer Keisuke Imamura are about the same age as me. It can be said that there is more unity than other shootings. The schedule is constantly advancing and the scene is full of excitement. I am very happy.
Fujii: After I heard Matsuzaka accepting this project, I was particularly relieved. I love "The Blood of Wolves" (2018). Needless to say, I have seen all the movies he starred in, and cinematographer Keisuke Imamura has also worked with Matsuzaka in "Yurigokoro" (2017) and Hamada in the TV series. I’ve heard the high performance evaluation of him from Imamura, and I am happy to be accompanied by Matsuzaka on the journey to complete this movie.
Q: By the way, I heard that the shooting took only 2 weeks.
Fujii: It should be a little more, but when I saw the shooting schedule, I thought you could shoot so much in one day? (laugh).
Matsuzaka: I also said "It's so secretive~" I remember saying this (lol).
Q: Did you discuss it out of caution before shooting?
Fujii: Because of the original case written by Mochizuki Isoko, a reporter from the department of Social Affairs of the Tokyo Newspaper, the Journalist played by Shim, it is easy to draw on the material. Most of them describe the righteousness and justice of the reporter. In contrast, Sugihara's "Cabinet's Research Office", I can't understand how it actually is. Although the bureaucrats were also interviewed for information, the other party said that "I haven't seen anyone who is whistleblower." Such a vague character cannot be left to Matsuzaka alone. So I also told him, "Although this is the situation (not available), I want this kind of performance."
Matsuzaka: The director's words helped me a lot and became a reminder of my imagination. Among them, how to clearly see the feelings generated in his environment and position, extract his thoughts about the things that must be protected, and how to express these, this may be the most important thing when playing Sugihara.
Q: The expression of Matsuzaka, which has never been seen before, can be seen everywhere in the movie.
Matsuzaka: I feel like this is a continuous question and answer. From this point of view, the ability to maintain a sense of tension is also related to the driving force behind the character of Sugihara to the end. When shooting, I really didn't relax.
Fujii: There was such a thing on the first day of shooting. I imagined from the movies in which Matsuzaka appeared that he might have such and such interpretation on acting and methods on expression, but there was none at all. A blink of an eye is also meaningful, it is not even helped by specific technique. I feel very powerful. So I want to keep watching, and I don't want to split the shot. I felt this way at the shooting site. I didn't specifically discuss the shooting method out of caution. How to shoot what Matsuzaka showed was my job. I was reminded that I am very happy to have this job.
Q: Matsuzaka, do you want to present a different idea from the past, "Actor • Matsuzaka Tori"?
Matsuzaka: No, no. If you bring this awareness, you will see other ambitions in the character and your acting will easily become uncoordinated, so on the contrary, you should not have this awareness (lol). This time, even after reading the script, there are many scenes that can't be imagined when confronting Eun Kyung. This is not known without entering the scene, this kind of scene continues, there are many self-questions and answers.
Q: Which scene was the director shocked after seeing Matsuzaka?
Fujii: I was particularly impressed by the last phone call between Sugihara and his boss, Kanzaki (Kazuya Takahashi). The meticulous and urgent performance is really wonderful.
Matsuzaka: I am glad to hear you say this.
Matsuzaka's last sentence in the feature film
Q: The struggling expression in front of the current direct boss Tada played by Tetsuji Tanaka, and the tears in front of Sugihara's wife played by Honda Tsubasa are also particularly good.
Fujii: The scene was filmed very early. About the fourth day of the shooting, Honda said, "Thanks for your hard work" during the photo shoot. I thought "Ah, it's finished", I remember it clearly (laughs).
Matsuzaka: Early in the first half.
Fujii: There were a lot of things in that tearful scene, which caused trouble for both of them. I told Matsuzaka, "It's okay to have tears that are not pretty. I want to show feelings like I'm in confusion but I'm almost determined." After that, Matsuzaka adjusted well. What I want is the tears of that feeling. I can see that expression constantly, so I like Matsuzaka the most in this movie (lol).
Matsuzaka: Thank you (laughs).
Fujii: Also, Matsuzaka's excellence as an actor was also concentrated in the final scene.
Q: The last expression is very shocking. Matsuzaka also said, "It is an expression that you did not know how to do until the shooting."
Matsuzaka: Yes. When I read the script, I didn't know what kind of expression it should be.
Fujii: The script says "(Yoshioka and Sugihara) turned dark after looking at each other" (lol).
Matsuzaka: Yes. After seeing this, I can't imagine how to perform. For myself, I couldn't find a hint how to perform this. It is very important that the scene was shot in front of the National Diet Building. There is usually a sense of liberation when the building appears in movies, but this time it is an atmosphere full of oppression that makes the body tight, and there is even a feeling of wanting to escape quickly. Because it was shot in this tense atmosphere, it might have been appeared like this.
Fujii: Although the producer told me that “the front of the National Diet Building is dangerous, you can’t shoot”, but I insisted that “it’s meaningless if we don’t shoot there” and didn’t give in.
Matsuzaka: Yes.
Fujii: However, there are still many restrictions, and it is not a place where you can simply shoot. So we are told to just "shoot with camera right away", Matsuzaka's expression when he came out of the parliament area was really terrifying, and I thought it was really amazing. Before the filming, Matsuzaka said, "Is it enough to just look at each other and end it? For example, move your mouth a little and say something?". So Matsuzaka, who came here as Sugihara, said that at the end. So it was a one-time shoot and OK-ed, and it pierced my heart all at once.
Matsuzaka: (Looking at the photos of the two people in front of the National Diet Building on the flyer) This one. When standing here, I naturally thought that if it were Sugihara, he would say that.
Fujii: But the final crank up was not here, it was the scene where Sugihara was walking in the corridor.
Matsuzaka: Yes.
Fujii: It's also there. I told him before the filming, "No lines here. Sugihara walks in the long white corridor. This is meaningful." Matsuzaka replied "I know". Although it was only a walking performance, Matsuzaka's expression gradually collapsed after the camera started shooting, and tears naturally overflowed in the expression of "What should I do?". With the tears there, Sugihara's words in the last scene also worked very well. It became a great scene together.
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