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"The role, Fumi, played by Tori Matsuzaka, is a sensitive one but the immersion is unbelievable. I feel like I'm sucked into his eyes seeming to show the inside of his conflicted mind. I also feel that Suzu Hirose has become an adult woman."
Lee: People are relieved when words such as "lover" and "friend" apply to the relationship, but the relationship between Fumi and Sarasa cannot be called love. There is no sex involved. It is neither parent-child affection nor friendship. It's rejection of the definition itself. Yet, there's a solid and certain connection. In this intolerant world, their relationship that strive for mutual appreciation of each other's dignity seems to be a kind of ideal. How to bring this to the audience on a realistic level. That's the most difficult part.
Fumi called it a "secret," but I was also worried and concerned about how to express the deep agony he is carrying and the sense of discomfort that Sarasa has been experiencing from society for a long time.
*Spoilers*
Fumi's mother, Otoha, played by Yayako Uchida. Although she could not look at Fumi, I was impressed by the way her eyes were shaking with agitation.
Lee: My impression of Otoha is that in the novel she is more cold-hearted, a mother who does not approach Fumi at all. However, the way Yayako played her, reflected her own view of family, and her coldness was mixed with a different temperature than just coldness, making her seem more complex and confusing. I believe that the presence of mothers has been given more depth.
Q: I felt that the absence of the fathers, as well as the mothers' close existence were questioned throughout the film.
Lee: Mothers are by far the most important part of a person's growth. That is an undeniable fact, for better or worse. I have a child myself, and as a mother, my wife is involved in some matters that, from a father's point of view, might be better left alone. I think there is an aspect of codependence between mothers and children. My own image of a mother is also very complicated and difficult to understand. In the process of making this film, I can't help but realize my own view of mothers. If I were to start talking about the difficulties I have with 'mothers', it would take about another two hours.
***Possible inaccuracy in Technical Terms***
Q: Can you tell us about the technical highlights?
Lee: I'd like you to listen carefully to the scene where Fumi lightly taps the bowl of coffee powder. In pursuit of the softest possible impression to match Fumi's personality, sound effect director, Kenji Shibasaki recorded the sound of the bowl being tapped and then used the sound backwards, which transformed the reverberation after the tapping into a soft sound that seems to be absorbed by the listener.
Cinematography
Lee: I translated the original story into a short story size and sent it to cinematographer Hong Kyung Pyo. He readily agreed to work. I told Hong that I wanted to "capture the hollow space behind Fumi's eyes" in this film, and he was very conscious of that.
***Spoilers***
Lee: There is a scene where Fumi touches Sarasa's lips, and that shot was taken in a very close-up manner. I think that even though the angle of view was unbalanced, he really went for the position where he could catch the depth of his eyes.
Production design
Lee: Sarasa and Ryo's apartment was set up in a warehouse in Matsumoto. All other settings were mostly modified location sets.
We modified Fumi's café and the apartment where he lived as a student to have walls in blue-gray tones and floors in brown. Although there are shades of gray, Fumi's surroundings are imagined as if they were underwater in a lake. The café was a vertical structure, so we created a layer in the front half as workspace to create a sense of depth. And since there is a large, impressive window at the far end, we added a slightly blue stained glass. Finally, we decided on detailed tones and textures for the floor and wall colors working backwards from natural light from the windows.
There's talk about Suzu and Tori's casting, they are both casted before the script. + The reason to call Hong. Other than that, that's all in the article.
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