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Beat Takeshi Discusses In This Corner of the World's Tokyo Sports Film Award Win
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Director, comedian, actor, and television personality Beat Takeshi (Takeshi Kitano) isn't shy to express his opinion on Japan's anime and film industry. In 2014, he expressed what he saw as mutual back-patting between film companies, cinemas, and newspapers with the added bonus of stating that he dislikes animation and Miyazaki's works.
When the anime film In This Corner of the World won Best Film at 26th Tokyo Sports Film Awards in Tokyo on Sunday, Takeshi called for live-action filmmakers and stars to reevaluate what they are doing, given that they are now losing to animated films.
Kitano said, "Ourselves included, both actors and directors [of live-action films] have to reassess things a little." Kitano continued by saying that in order to produce good live-action films, "I want you to look at this type of film, understand well what makes it good, and consider where [live-action films] are losing."
Many films directed by or starring Kitano have won the Tokyo Sports Film Award for Best Film in the past. His Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen won last year, and his A Scene at the Sea won the first award in 1991. Kitano is also the chairman of the awards' judging committee.
Kitano is playing Public Security Section 9 founder and chief Daisuke Aramaki in DreamWorks and Paramount's live-action Ghost in the Shell film, which will open in the United States on March 31. Mamoru Oshii's original Ghost in the Shell anime film won the Best Film award in 1995.
Sunao Katabuchi's In This Corner of the World anime film is based on Fumiyo Kōno's To All The Corners Of The World (Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni) manga. The award-winning manga follows a bride named Suzu Urano as she moves to her new life in Kure City on the coast of Hiroshima Prefecture. Suzu perseveres through World War II with pluck and determination.
The film debuted in 63 Japanese theaters on November 12. It has earned over 2 billion yen (about US$17.58 million) at the Japanese box office. The anime will screen in 23 countries and territories around the world.
The film won the Hiroshima Peace Film Award at the Hiroshima International Film Festival in November, and it screened at Annecy in a Work in Progress session in June.
Film magazine Kinema Jump named In This Corner of the World the best Japanese movie of 2016. Before In This Corner of the World, the magazine has not awarded the #1 spot to an animated film since Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, almost 30 years ago. The film also won the Japanese Movie Award of Excellence and the Noburou Oofuji Award at the 71st Annual Mainichi Film Awards.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web via 0takomu
