Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda is known for the small details, brilliant characters, and subtle, gripping stories in his films. With The Broker, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, he decided to stick to his strengths and turn things around. This is the director’s first Korean film, but it tells another Koreda story about social outcasts who band together to form a makeshift family. The runner started years ago; Kore-eda came up with the story idea while writing Shoplifters, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2018. He quickly assembled a cast of Korean actors: Sang Kang-ho, Gang Dong. won, Bae Doona and IU – and continued from there.
Last week, Coreda, who has just started development on his next project in Japan, attended the Ente dello Spettacolo Venice Film Festival to receive the Besson Award, ahead of The Broker’s Italian premiere on October 13th. Gossipify contacted him briefly. Speak with Lido to discuss the influence of Italian cinema on his work, Brocker’s inspirations and the state of contemporary Japanese cinema.
The Broker’s tone is a little more ironic than his previous films.
The lighter tone is partly due to Song Kang-ho’s performance. He has this ability where he can find an ironic and delicate trait in any situation.
How important was the influence of Fellini and Italian neorealism for you?
Feline has been very strong in my life since I was just 16 years old. My first choice as a director was influenced by him. This gave me a clear idea of what direction is and its importance. Fellini had a double aspect, halfway between character and poetry. Especially in the second half of his career.
And neorealism?
Working with non-professional actors has always fascinated me, and that’s what I tried to do in my early work as a director.
He also mentioned “poetry” in other interviews. How would you define it in this context?
There is a scene in La strada de Fellini where Gelsomina is a little confused and Il Matto tries to cheer her up. She takes a stone and says, “Everything has a purpose, even this stone; And you also have a purpose.” You see, rock and this speech is poetry.
What is the situation of Japanese cinema today? Several Japanese films, thanks to you and other authors like Ryusuke Hamaguchi (2022 Oscar winner for Best International Film), are now widely seen and discussed around the world.
If it’s an external perspective, it means we’re on the right track. Ryusuke Hamaguchi is younger than me. We are talking about a difference of at least 20 years, and the same can be said of Koji Fukada, who participates in this edition of the Venice Film Festival with Love Life. I am very happy with the growth and success of the new generation of Japanese directors. For me, this is something incredible. Especially since the same old authors have always been in the spotlight for the last 20 years. We did our best, but new blood was needed. With a new generation we can move forward.
The international success you also achieved locally in Japan?
If we want to find some kind of flaw in this success, it should be noted that this visibility is not reflected in the Japanese industry. On the contrary, there is a division. The Japanese film industry is closed so far. As the population declines, so does the demand for new movies. At the local level, there are several issues that have been ignored for the time being. This results in a bifacial element. And so we have the deep divide between artistic evolution in cinema and stagnation in the industry itself.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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