Director Hirokazu Kore-eda of the movie 'Monster' reveals the behind-the-scenes casting of actor Eita Nagayama

Hirokazu Koreeda, director of the movie 'The Monster', did not spare praise for actor Eita Nagayama, who plays Teacher Hori.

On the 5th, a special conversation video between film critic Lee Dong-jin and director Hirokazu Kore-eda was released on the YouTube channel 'Media Castle' to celebrate the release of the movie 'The Host'.

On this day, director Hirokazu Koreeda revealed the behind-the-scenes filming of the movie ‘Monster’. Critic Lee Dong-jin asked about “what impressed me the most while watching Yuji Sakamoto’s screenplay,” and director Hirokazu Koreeda said, “Anyway, my first impression was that the storytelling was fun. When I read the plot before the script, I read Mom (Chapter 1) and Teacher (Part 2). If you don't read the whole chapter, you don't know what's going on. So, like the characters, the information is limited, so the audience enters the story on their own and falls in love with finding the monster together. That was very fun. But in Chapter 3, the children's As the story unfolded, I realized why Mr. Yuji Sakamoto entrusted it to me.”

Director Hirokazu Koreeda, who had written the screenplay himself except for his debut film, 'Light of Fantasy', will direct from Yuji Sakamoto's script. When asked how he felt, Hirokazu Koreeda said, "The first time I met writer Yuji Sakamoto was in 2015. Since then, I have met him about three times in conversation. I am such a fan of the writer's screenplay that I have personally asked him to write the screenplay for my work each time. They had a lot in common: child neglect issues, pseudo-families, and criminal perpetrators. We received the plot of the script in December 2018, but since then there was the coronavirus, we played catch together for three years, held auditions together, and went to a village with a lake and an elementary school. “I wrote it while savoring each and every line while exchanging them as if we were playing catch, so I didn’t feel any difference as it was a script I didn’t write while directing on set.”

Lee Dong-jin said that disasters such as fire and typhoons are located at the beginning and end of the structure in Chapter 3, and asked about the meaning of human disasters and natural disasters. Director Hirokazu Koreeda explained, "Because it was written by Yuji Sakamoto, there are some parts that are a bit difficult for me to explain. I immediately noticed that it is a story that starts with fire and ends with water. In Chapter 3, the children fall into a canal while coming out of the train."

Regarding the production structure of Chapter 3, director Hirokazu Koreeda said, "Some audience members who missed the lead in Chapters 1 and 2 may feel uncomfortable about it. However, there can be two types of discomfort. Of course, that structure itself is kind. Some people may feel that this is not the case, and another unpleasant feeling is when you realize in Chapter 3 that you too were looking for a monster. It must be a very uncomfortable feeling to realize that you have been swayed and ended up on the side of the perpetrator. This film has that structure. “I think it was absolutely necessary,” he said.

The perspectives of Minato, Saori, and Hori are highlighted, but the perspective of Yori, who could be said to be the center of 'Monster', is not shown. Regarding this, director Hirokazu Koreeda commented, "I think Yori is seen through Minato's eyes. This was decided from the plot stage. I think that Minato sees Yori as a being seen from a very personal perspective, and is portrayed only as a limited being."

Regarding the acting of actress Sakura Ando, who appeared in 'A Monster' following 'A Certain Family', she said, "I was the one who suggested casting her. I persuaded her very much, so she appeared here. It took a lot of persuasion since I was briefly raising a child. . On set, he worked with me on how to bring out Minato's good acting and emotions, and approached this work from a director's perspective. After coming out of the hospital, there is a long one-cut where the word 'Hori-sensei' comes out of Minato's mouth for the first time. “I felt that Sakura Ando’s potential as an actress was fully demonstrated with just that one cut,” she expressed her gratitude.

Regarding actor Eita Nagayama, who plays Hori, Hirokazu Koreeda said, "In fact, before Eita Nagayama was cast, Mr. Hori's character was blurry and inconclusive in terms of plot and script compared to now. While the names of several actors were being mentioned, Yuji Sakamoto was the screenwriter. He said, ‘What do you think of Eita Nagayama?’ After that, Hori-sensei rewrote the script for a month and it became the current script. He was acting with a perfect understanding of what was being asked of him.”

Reporter Ha-neul Lee, Ten Asia greenworld@tenasia.co.kr