Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who is called a 'movie monster' in the Japanese film industry, has influenced Korean directors knowingly or unknowingly. In particular, his representative work <The Cure> is known to have inspired the killer character in director Bong Joon-ho's <Memories of Murder>.
 
The 1997 film <Cure> will be remastered in 4K and released in Korea. Previously, the version was released at the Jeonju International Film Festival in early May, and the director himself said that he confirmed the result for the first time at the theater. It is the third time that his film will be released in Korea. How will the audience accept the result of digitally reproducing the texture of the film? Prior to the release, I met the director in person at a hotel in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
 
Is the film always in the theater? Cinematic fun is the most important
 
thing. A man named Mamiya who seems crazy for some reason, and an unspecified number of citizens who commit murder without fail when he meets him. <Cure> has produced many fans with its shocking material and sensuous screen composition. Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa said, "I am both happy and anxious" about releasing it again in 4K version.
 
“It’s great that the rough screen and sound become apparent in 4K work, but it’s unsettling to hear and see it so clearly (laughs). It's an ideal story, in fact, it was said even 40 years ago.
 
These days, whether it's 4K, digital screening, or smartphone, it's an era where you can watch movies in a variety of ways. It doesn't matter whether it was shot on film or not, but whether there is cinematic fun is more important. Not all films shot on film are great.
 
Just as a director needs to make a good film, I think (remastering) is meaningful enough if the digital work or 4K worker has a good sense." However, he said, "I didn't prepare the rehearsal or continuity carefully. " It was a moment when the assumption that the persuasiveness of the story and the character could be guaranteed only after studying hypnosis, psychoanalysis, and psychological mechanism was broken.
 
I'd like to say, but I'll confess, I've read medical books, but I haven't really looked into psychology or hypnotism in depth. I tend to write what comes to my mind intuitively. Of course, I went through the process of checking it with experts later, but most of them just write what comes to mind. From before until now, we rarely do rehearsals consistently. This is because the more you rehearse, the more freshness of acting disappears.
 
Of course, I plan very precisely where to put the camera and how to shoot the scene. I don't draw storyboards, but I tend to decide the location of the camera or the location of the actors after careful consideration. The reason I put a lot of effort into <Cure> is because I kept the story for a long time. It was taken in 1997, but the idea came to me around 1990. I wrote the script for a long time, but the actual shooting was done in an instant. In 1997, I had to shoot five low-budget yakuza films, but after filming two, I shot <Cure>, I immediately went on to shoot another yakuza movie. That's why I wonder if some things I thought about for a long time remained in <Cure> unconsciously." For
 
that reason, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa denied the critics' interpretation that the film was a metaphor for the serial murders of Aum Shinrikyo. Although the images of Aum Jinrihoe members who murdered innocent citizens overlap with <The Cure>, he emphasized again, "I came up with the idea for the movie before the incident happened.
 
" As the reporter who asked the question said, it was that it could spread without knowing it like cancer. That's not all that negative. Unlike external oppression and unhappiness, the inner spirit can always be free and peaceful. In fact, when I was making <Cure>, I had some positive thoughts about the human spirit. Rather, I see more chaos and anxiety these days.
 
Korean directors who mention <Cure>... "I am very happy"
 
Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is also happy that directors Bong Joon-ho and Yeon Sang-ho consistently choose <Cure> as their life movie and were inspired to conceive the worldview of their works. did not hide
 
“When I was making that film, I didn’t think about how it would be evaluated in the future. It didn’t hit the box office, and it didn’t even win awards at film festivals (laughs). Even though many years have passed, many people still watch it and young directors say that they were inspired. I think it was a good thing to have made it into a movie. I realize that a movie has another value apart from box office success.
 
Director Bong Joon-ho's <Memories of Murder> is a decisive work that allowed Japan to face the level of Korean cinema. Korean films have entered Japan before, but thanks to <Memories of Murder>, many people have come to recognize the high quality of Korean films. It's a thing.
 
In fact, the character Mamiya came to mind in an instant rather than thinking deeply. She was made more natural through the actor's performance. One thing I want to say is that there was something like this in a medical book I was reading at the time. It was written that a person who cannot remember properly due to a brain disease is talking to a doctor, and a doctor who examines a person who immediately forgets what he said and continues to say something else is under tremendous stress to the point of losing his reason. I made Mamiya's lines with that as a reference. It was played by an actor named Hagiwara Masato, who was popular at the time for his exaggerated emotional acting. I told him to never show emotions and act like a hollow person. He himself was very fresh. So it seems that the acting that no one expected came out."
 
"The future of cinema and theater? I am optimistic.”
 
In his latest work, a theme that runs through Japanese and East Asian history is found. In particular, <The Spy’s Wife> deals head-on with Unit 731, which symbolizes Japan’s war crimes. I was very interested in history itself, but I didn't have many opportunities due to budget problems."
 
“If I say one more thing, when I talk about the present or modern times, I have a hard time figuring out how to end it. Bonnie, the ending had to be ambiguous. That's why it was set in the past. We can know the outcome of past events. For example, why Japan lost the war and what mistakes it did, we can definitely talk now
 
. It is possible. Because there is data. Of course, the main character in the movie does not know his or her future, but I believe that there is no material that has a clear advantage as history in establishing a situation in which Japan loses the war. Maybe. I think that's the charm of <The Spy's Wife>."
 
At the end of the interview, I asked him how he sees the future of theater. This is because the absolute number of audiences visiting theaters has decreased due to the development of the OTT platform and the COVID-19 pandemic, and there are observations that the theater industry will be in a period of stagnation worldwide. I was curious about the master's insight.
 
“I know that there has been a lot of talk about the disappearance of theaters since a long time ago, but they still exist. There is a very large multiplex theater near Yongsan, Seoul, where I am currently interviewing. Perhaps the culture of young people going to the theater will not disappear. If so, Why is it attractive to watch a movie in a theater? This is a topic that I often think about. If you want to simply enjoy a movie, you don't have to go to the theater to watch it at home. After all, isn't it the power of a theater to watch it with many people?
 
For example, when I'm watching a movie and I feel that it's fun and the audience around me reacts the same way, there comes a moment when I feel a sense of identity. Conversely, other people seem to enjoy it, but there are times when I am not very interested. I think this kind of experience helps me to know who I am. If you see it with your lover or friend, you can share your opinion. You can also get to know the other person by watching a movie together and seeing when that person laughs and cries. That's why the theater is a place where I know what kind of existence I am and what kind of environment I am placed in. You can't have that kind of experience anywhere else. So I think the theater will remain."