Jean Renoir once said: "A director only makes one movie in his life. Then he breaks it down and makes it again." Though my three films: The Meatball Story, Truant Cafe and Ashita seem vastly different, they explore the one theme in life I see as a constant. That human beings, no matter how different we think we are, no matter how we think, in essence we are all they same. We all smile, we are hurt and when we are each presented with the dark we'd all rather not face it alone.
I am fascinated with human ability to face the worst of life alone and survive. I am fascinated with the secret pain and fear that people hide. And this is reflected in my writing, actually its also reflected when I write. I usually write when I am at my worst, or when a situation is at its worst and I want to talk about it. My first film, The Meatball Story, I wrote over the course of three afternoons in a downtown Montreal food court. I had no money and used my last few dollars to buy a pad and a pack of pencils. Sitting there, angry at the world, sad because I was broke and didn't know where I was going in life, I wrote The Meatball Story, a story about greed and selfishness. Truant Cafe was written in two days in a cafe in downtown Montreal. I had been living in Toronto for a year, but I had come off a terrible relationship with a terrible girl and was very angry at how modern society sees dating and relationships, so I sat in the cafe and wrote Truant Cafe a story about a relationship gone wrong and about getting even. Ashita came at a happy time in my life, I had been married for almost a year to my lovely wife Izumi. We got married in Japan and I fell in love with the country and the culture. I knew I wanted to work on a Japanese project. I thought it would be a wonderful experiment to try. I even expressed the idea to Kyoko, my mother in law, who is a theatrical producer, director and actor in Kyushu, Japan. I told her I would like to write a play for her--this is how the seed was planted in my head. For a while I tried writing a few stories that didn't pan out, I even tried adapting The Meatball Story into Japanese by changing it to The Gyoza Story, but that didn't work either. I felt terrible... I had never been this happy before, so I could not write. So I put my iPod on and went for a walk and I listened to music and some memories came back to me and I was inspired and Ashita was soon thereafter born. My inspiration was not my pain or anger, it was the pain in anger people who live in a big city see everyday.
What does all of this have to do with Renoir's quote? Well, I'm getting to that. As a director of these three films I also had a different approach to these topics of the human condition. I made The Meatball Story with the intention of proving to world that I could do it, that a feature film could be made in little time and for next to no money. Of course, when I was making it, I was positive it was going to win at least three Oscars and affect the cinema world in a way much like Citizen Kane or at least Clerks did. My second kick at the movie making can was Truant Cafe and my approach here was very personal, I wanted to public humiliate someone and I was going to do it with this movie. I was very angry through the whole process of writing, shooting and editing the movie. That's really not a good way to be in any process, especially making a movie. Again, it was going to win three Oscars and change the world. With Ashita, my approach is very different, because I see it as an experiment I can have fun making it. I can play and try things, because after all a white Canadian making a Japanese language film in the city of Toronto with and entirely Japanese cast can only be described as an experiment.
The themes to all three films are on the most basic level, the same, however I am re-imagining them in a new way with each project. As for the Oscars, well with Ashita I want to see the completed experiment more than anything. I am curious and slightly weary of how Japanese audiences will react.
I doubt my fascination with humanity will ever cease. I will be a father in a few months, this is an experience and joy I am looking forward to. I am sure that I will be able to see life in a beautiful and new way through my child's eyes. Who knows maybe one day I will make a kids movie. How cool would that be?
I am fascinated with human ability to face the worst of life alone and survive. I am fascinated with the secret pain and fear that people hide. And this is reflected in my writing, actually its also reflected when I write. I usually write when I am at my worst, or when a situation is at its worst and I want to talk about it. My first film, The Meatball Story, I wrote over the course of three afternoons in a downtown Montreal food court. I had no money and used my last few dollars to buy a pad and a pack of pencils. Sitting there, angry at the world, sad because I was broke and didn't know where I was going in life, I wrote The Meatball Story, a story about greed and selfishness. Truant Cafe was written in two days in a cafe in downtown Montreal. I had been living in Toronto for a year, but I had come off a terrible relationship with a terrible girl and was very angry at how modern society sees dating and relationships, so I sat in the cafe and wrote Truant Cafe a story about a relationship gone wrong and about getting even. Ashita came at a happy time in my life, I had been married for almost a year to my lovely wife Izumi. We got married in Japan and I fell in love with the country and the culture. I knew I wanted to work on a Japanese project. I thought it would be a wonderful experiment to try. I even expressed the idea to Kyoko, my mother in law, who is a theatrical producer, director and actor in Kyushu, Japan. I told her I would like to write a play for her--this is how the seed was planted in my head. For a while I tried writing a few stories that didn't pan out, I even tried adapting The Meatball Story into Japanese by changing it to The Gyoza Story, but that didn't work either. I felt terrible... I had never been this happy before, so I could not write. So I put my iPod on and went for a walk and I listened to music and some memories came back to me and I was inspired and Ashita was soon thereafter born. My inspiration was not my pain or anger, it was the pain in anger people who live in a big city see everyday.
What does all of this have to do with Renoir's quote? Well, I'm getting to that. As a director of these three films I also had a different approach to these topics of the human condition. I made The Meatball Story with the intention of proving to world that I could do it, that a feature film could be made in little time and for next to no money. Of course, when I was making it, I was positive it was going to win at least three Oscars and affect the cinema world in a way much like Citizen Kane or at least Clerks did. My second kick at the movie making can was Truant Cafe and my approach here was very personal, I wanted to public humiliate someone and I was going to do it with this movie. I was very angry through the whole process of writing, shooting and editing the movie. That's really not a good way to be in any process, especially making a movie. Again, it was going to win three Oscars and change the world. With Ashita, my approach is very different, because I see it as an experiment I can have fun making it. I can play and try things, because after all a white Canadian making a Japanese language film in the city of Toronto with and entirely Japanese cast can only be described as an experiment.
The themes to all three films are on the most basic level, the same, however I am re-imagining them in a new way with each project. As for the Oscars, well with Ashita I want to see the completed experiment more than anything. I am curious and slightly weary of how Japanese audiences will react.
I doubt my fascination with humanity will ever cease. I will be a father in a few months, this is an experience and joy I am looking forward to. I am sure that I will be able to see life in a beautiful and new way through my child's eyes. Who knows maybe one day I will make a kids movie. How cool would that be?
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