Kiyoshi Kurosawa | |
|---|---|
 Kurosawa at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | (1955-07-19)July 19, 1955 (age 70) Kobe, Japan |
| Alma mater | Rikkyo University |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,screenwriter, film critic, actor |
| Years active | 1973–present |
Kiyoshi Kurosawa[a] (黒沢 清,Kurosawa Kiyoshi; born July 19, 1955) is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic, author, actor, and a former professor atTokyo University of the Arts (2005–2023).
Noted for hispsychological films that often focus on ambiguous narratives and on their characters' inner turmoils and quests for meaning and connections, he is best known for his contributions topsychological horror andJapanese horror, notably his acclaimed 1997 filmCure, although he has also worked in a variety of other genres. While most of his work has been inJapanese, two of his films,Daguerrotype (2016) andSerpent's Path (2024; a remake of his own1998 film of the same name), were inFrench.The New York Times stated that Kurosawa "is to psychological fright whatDavid Cronenberg is to body horror."[1]
Born inKobe on July 19, 1955,[2] Kiyoshi Kurosawa started making films about his life in high school.[3]
He studied atRikkyo University inTokyo under the guidance of prominent film criticShigehiko Hasumi,[4] where he began making8mm films.[3]
He is not related to filmmakerAkira Kurosawa.[5]
Kurosawa began directing commercially in the 1980s, working onpink films[6] and low-budgetV-Cinema (direct-to-video) productions such as formulayakuza films.[7] In 1981, his 8mm filmShigarami Gakuen (しがらみ学園) was nominated for the Oshima Prize at the PFF (Pia Film Festival). In 1983, after he worked withShinji Soumai, he released his first feature filmKandagawa Pervert Wars (1983). He became popular afterThe Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl (1985) andThe Guard from Underground (1992).[8]
In the early 1990s, Kurosawa won a scholarship to theSundance Institute by submitting his original screen playCharisma. Then, he was able to study filmmaking in the United States, although he had been directing for nearly ten years professionally.[9]
Kurosawa first achieved international acclaim with his 1997 crime thriller filmCure.[10] A year later, he completed two thrillers back-to-back,Serpent's Path andEyes of the Spider, both of which shared the same premise (a father taking revenge for his child's murder) and lead actor (Show Aikawa) but spun entirely different stories.[11] In March 1999, the Hong Kong International Film Festival presented his first retrospective, a five-title-program includingThe Excitement of the Do-re-mi fa Girls,The Guard from Underground,Serpent's Path,Eyes of the Spider, andLicense to Live.
Kurosawa followed upCure with a semi-sequel in 1999 withCharisma, a detective film starringKōji Yakusho.[9] In 2000,Seance, Kurosawa's adaptation of the novelSeance on a Wet Afternoon by Mark McShane, premiered onKansai TV. It also starred Yakusho, as well asJun Fubuki (the two had appeared together inCharisma as well). In 2001, he directed the horror filmPulse.[12] Kurosawa releasedBright Future, starringTadanobu Asano,Joe Odagiri andTatsuya Fuji, in 2003.[13] He followed this with another digital feature,Doppelganger, later the same year.[14] BothBright Future andDoppelganger have nominated for theCannes Film Festivals[8]
In 2005, Kurosawa returned withLoft, his first love story sinceSeance.[15] Another horror film,Retribution, followed in the next year.[16] With his 2008 film,Tokyo Sonata, Kurosawa was considered to step "out of his usual horror genre and into family drama."[17]
He has written a novelization of his own filmPulse, as well as a history of horror cinema withMakoto Shinozaki.[18]
In September 2012, it was announced that he would direct1905, a film starringTony Leung Chiu-Wai,Shota Matsuda andAtsuko Maeda.[19] In February 2013, it was announced that production of the film had been cancelled before filming could start.[20]
Kurosawa directed a 2012 five-part television dramaPenance.[21]Beautiful 2013, an anthology film featuring Kurosawa'sBeautiful New Bay Area Project, screened at theHong Kong International Film Festival in 2013.[22]
Kurosawa's next feature filmReal, which starsTakeru Sato andHaruka Ayase, was released in 2013.[23] He won the Best Director award at the 8thRome Film Festival forSeventh Code later that year.[24]
His 2015 filmJourney to the Shore was screened in theUn Certain Regard section at the2015 Cannes Film Festival where he won the prize for Best Director.[25][26]
In 2016, his thrillerCreepy premiered at the66th Berlin International Film Festival.[27] The film marked Kurosawa's first cinematic return to the horror genre since 2006.
His 2017 filmBefore We Vanish was screened in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival.
His 2019 filmTo the Ends of the Earth was screened as the closing film in the Piazza Grande program of the72nd Locarno Film Festival.
In 2020, Kurosawa won theSilver Lion for Best Direction at the77th Venice International Film Festival for his filmWife of a Spy.[28]
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Kurosawa signed an open letter published inLibération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[29][30][31]
Kurosawa's directing style has been compared to those ofStanley Kubrick andAndrei Tarkovsky, though he has never expressly listed those directors as influences.[32] In an interview, he claimed thatAlfred Hitchcock andYasujirō Ozu contributed to shaping his personal vision of the medium.[33] He has also expressed admiration for American film directors such asDon Siegel,Sam Peckinpah,Robert Aldrich,Richard Fleischer,[34] andTobe Hooper.[35] In a 2000 interview withTime, Kurosawa noted his appreciation forJohn Cassavetes, stating, "When I watch a Cassavetes film, I am awed by the understanding that people can subtly change in the course of a simple conversation."[36] Through his association with mentor Shigehiko Hasumi, Kurosawa was also influenced byJean-Luc Godard.[37]
In a 2009 interview withIFC, Kurosawa talked about the reason why he has cast the actorKōji Yakusho in many of his films: "He has similar values and sensitivities. We’re from the same generation. That’s a big reason why I enjoy working with him on the set."[38]
According to Tim Palmer, Kurosawa's films occupy a peculiar position between the materials of mass genre, on the one hand, and esoteric or intellectual abstraction, on the other. They also clearly engage with issues of environmental critique, given Kurosawa's preference for shooting in decaying open spaces, abandoned (and often condemned) buildings, and in places rife with toxins, pestilence and entropy.[39]
In an interview with the Tokyo Art University, where he is a professor, Kurosawa talks about not wanting his directorial style to be too fixed.[40] The interviewer makes reference to Kurosawa's versatility when they talk aboutClint Eastwood; Kurosawa says he admires people who can do many things and that he doesn't box himself into one style or one theme. When asked what he wants to try next, he answered: "The next thing I want to do is something I have never done." Kurosawa also mentions that he has seen many films since he was young, and that he knows there are many great films from around the world. Those films motivate him to be a better filmmaker; he always asks himself how to make films that will be memorable for a long time.
In the same article by the Tokyo Art University, Kurosawa names film critic Hasumi Shigehiko as a mentor and early influence in his filmmaking career. Much of Hasumi's influence would go on to shape the core of Kurosawa's filmography. Kurosawa met Hasumi in University, where he was one of the few students to finish his course, and credits Hasumi with teaching him that film is worth dedicating your entire life to. Hasumi and Kurosawa believe that every element of the film matters and should be meticulously planned. Kurosawa has also stated that one of his goals as a filmmaker is to share Hasumi's teachings.
| Title | Year Published | Publisher | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 映像のカリスマ 黒沢清映画史 (Film History of Kiyoshi Kurosawa) | 1992 | Film Art Inc. | [49] |
| 映画はおそろしい (Eiga ha Osoroshi) | 2001 | Seidosha | [50] |
| 黒沢清の映画術 (technique of Kiyoshi Kurosawa) | 2006 | Shinchosha | [51] |
| 映画のこわい話 黒沢清対談集 (Eiga no kowai hanashi, scary story of film) | 2007 | Seidosha | [50] |
| 恐怖の対談 映画のもっとこわい話 (Eigano Motto Kowai Hanashi, More scary story of film) | 2008 | Seidosha | [50] |
| 黒沢清、21世紀の映画を語る (Kurosawa Kiyoshi talking about 21st century movie) | 2010 | Boid | [52] |
Co-written[edit] | |||
| ロスト イン アメリカ Lost in America | 2000 | Digital Hollywood | [53] |
| 黒沢清の恐怖の映画史 (Kurosawa Kiyoshi no Kyofuno Eigashi - Scary film history of Kurosawa Kiyoshi) | 2003 | Seidosha | [50] |
| 映画の授業 映画美学校の教室から (Eiga no Jyugyou, Eiga Bigakkou no Kyoushitsu Kara - Film Class, from class room of School of Cinema ) | 2004 | Seidosha | |
| 東京から 現代アメリカ映画談 イーストウッド、スピルバーグ、タランティーノ (Modern American film discussion with Eastwood, Spielberg, and Tarantino from Tokyo) | 2010 | Seidosha | |
| 日本映画は生きている (Nihon Eiga wa Ikiteiru - Japanese Film is Livning) | 2010 | Iwanami Shoten | [54] |
| 映画長話 (Eiga Nagabanashi - Long Story about Film) | 2011 | Little More | [55] |
Films adapted into novels[edit] | |||
| キュア（Cure） | 1997 | Tokuma Bunko | [56] |
| 回路 (Pulse) | 2001 | Tokuma Bunko | [56] |
| Award | Year | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54th Cannes Film Festival | 2001 | Prize of Un Certain Regard | Pulse | Nominated | [57][58] |
| 56th Cannes Film Festivals | 2003 | Competition | Bright Future | Nominated | |
| 61st Cannes Film Festivals | 2008 | Prize of Un Certain Regard | Tokyo Sonata | Won Prix du Jury | |
| 68th Cannes Film Festivals | 2015 | Prize of Un Certain Regard | Journey to the Shore | Won Best Director | |
| 70th Cannes Film Festivals | 2017 | Prize of Un Certain Regard | Before We Vanish | Nominated | |
| 41st Japan Academy Film Prize | 2018 | Best Director | Before We Vanish | Nominated | [57][59] |
| 77th Venice International Film Festival | 2020 | Best Director Silver Lion | Wife of a Spy | Won | [60] |
| 29th Busan International Film Festival | 2024 | Best Director Silver Lion | The Asian Filmmaker of the Year | Won | [61] |
| Honor | Year | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Medal with Purple Ribbon | 2021 | [62] |
Shelved from a Nikkatsu Roman Porno release for being too bizarre and subsequently re-edited and re-shot, Kurosawa's second feature is a nonsensical Godardian work that throws everything at the wall, including musical numbers, humiliation experiments and non-sequiturs galore.
