As Japan Cuts Open, Programmer Jamier Talks Asian Film Trends, Fests & Stars

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Interviews

Published on Tuesday, 10 July 2012 23:52

Written by Renzo Adler

Q: Is Hard Romanticker meant for old fans of Yakuza movies or a new younger audience?

SJ: A lot of Japanese people have seen the 1960’s classics on TV, so they’re really trying to update and find a new audience there. Hard Romanticker has the characteristics of a yakuza film but is not a yakuza film itself. Yakuza films are still popular, Outrage was a pretty big success for Kitano, and I think Outrage 2 is back on track. So the genre is still kind of popular.

I would say if you compare with Korea, to go back to the home market versus theatrical releases, what Korea and China have going for them is a pretty huge theatrical market. It’s not doing as well as it used to a few years ago, but in the case of China, there’s a massive rise. It will be the largest theatrical market. Clearly that influences filmmakers and everything.

Korea is still pretty huge because tickets are much cheaper; it’s just a different way of seeing films. There’s a genuine cinephile culture in Korea whereas cinephelia in Japan is more of an otaku phenomenon, it’s not on such a massive scale.

That makes for a style of film making [in Japan] that is more niche, more specific, more extreme in a way, and that’s why it’s also interesting.  Whether that makes it unique, there’s also the angle of just being from Japan, but it’s not just that.

Film making in Japan is also really difficult. Not that it’s easy in China, Korea, or the US, but it’s particularly hard to make a film there right now. So that has an impact on how you make your film. If you’re an indie filmmaker in Japan, the tendency is to do it the hard way. I find that quite interesting.

Q: Why is it so difficult for indie film makers in Japan right now?

SJ: Money, also finding an audience. There’s a lot of pre-packaging. Like a book is doing really well so they option it. Everything is pretty integrated so that it gets predictable now. But there are still some interesting films.

Love Strikes, for example, is meant to be a popular film. It’s based on a really popular TV show and a manga, so it’s pre-prepared. They paved the way for it. But it’s fun, it does come from a place where they say “we want to be as popular as possible” and it’s undeniable that they made a fun movie.

In terms of funding, it’s become pretty difficult and in the end there’s a sense that these films, one way or another, end up on the small screen. So it affects the way you make a film from the start with that in mind. It is hard to put that together.

Q: How big of a driving force is VOD in Asia?

SJ: It’s not like here. Koreans really go to theaters. Whenever I go there it’s really shocking. I usually come back from there feeling really enthusiastic. Even though it’s not what it used to be, it’s still really impressive. You get a sense that you’re going to a social event. On the other hand, one of the things that isn’t positive in Korea and is a bit like Japan is the role of the megaplex over there.

I don’t think this dominance of a few chains over the market is that great. It’s hegemony.  Very few companies control the market. They have that problem, but artistic opportunities are still really good.

Everything in Japan is really expensive, so that’s a big deterrent. When you want to spend that much money to see a movie, you’re more likely to see something like The Avengers.

But again, the resilience of the industry is pretty amazing. It’s interesting to see what they come up with to counter that. Fundamentally in Korea and China it feels like you’re doing your part to counter Hollywood culture [when you go to the movies], whereas in Japan it’s a little less so.

Korea really wants to sell to a foreign market and they’re quite aggressive about it. Sometimes it fails quite spectacularly. I won’t say any specific films, but there have been some co-productions between China and Korea that just don’t work and the films end up sucking pretty badly. But when they come up with a concept, and they really have their eyes set on a different market, they really can look outside.

In Japan when they make a film, they think primarily of the locals, but then they’re happy if you show it somewhere else. New York is always a target, but it seems kind of optional in a way. They don’t really think of Western or foreign audiences.

Q: Even though Japanese films are necessarily always marketed to the West, I think Japanese filmmakers are still heavily influenced by the west.

SJ: Definitely, you get a lot of stuff from the outside, but then they have a particular view and perspective and they get adapted differently. A thing about cinema I find fascinating is how Korea is adapting Japanese films and vice versa. The cultural crossover is interesting.

There’s one [Korean] film being shown at the New York Asian Film Festival this year that’s really interesting called Couples that’s a remake of a Japanese film called A Stranger of Mine, a pretty tricky fun comedy from director Kenji  Uchida. So the Korean version is like a copy of the original and is very strong in similarities, but they add a little something to it that’s great. It was really great how they twisted it to make it fit in Korea.

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