Kore-eda: My childhood inadvertently permeates films

By Shim Sun-ah

BUSAN, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- The internationally acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda continues to contrast immature adults with mature children in his well-crafted family dramas. The case was the same with his new film, "Our Little Sister."

"I don't know why, but maybe my childhood as a precocious kid has inadvertently had an influence on my films," Kore-eda told reporters during the 20th Busan International Film Festival on Sunday. "This could be a reflection of what I felt and was bothered about as a child about being around immature adults."

When Kore-eda read the film's original comic book series, he received a strong feeling that he should adapt the work to the big screen.

In his new film "Our Little Sister," the director returned with a family drama about three adult sisters who find out about the existence of their half-sister when they visit a rural town to attend their father's funeral. After meeting the sister, the three invite the orphaned girl to live with them, marking the beginning of a new life for all.

The movie competed for a prize during the 68th Cannes Film Festival in May and is getting a gala screening during this year's Busan festival.

The filmmaker said his repeated exploration into the power of family is "unintentional."
"Personally, I lost both my mother and father in a period of 10 years, and became a father myself. I think changes in my own family and a matter of personal interest probably has had a direct influence in films," he said.

Kore-eda's previous films include "Nobody Knows" about a family of children left by their mother to fend for themselves and "Like Father, Like Son" about two babies swapped at birth and returned to their real families when they are six years old.

He, however, stressed that his latest film is more about "time" rather than people.

"It also depicts the theme of family but also has the stories of the house, the seaside village and features the time that elapsed there. In that sense, I think it's a film with a wider view. I thought while making the film that the real protagonist here maybe time rather than human."

The 53-year-old said that the Busan film festival has a special meaning to him.

"Twenty years have passed since the festival began. The same period has passed since I became a filmmaker. So I feel the festival has walked beside me as I thought about what stories I should tell the world. This festival means much to me in that sense."

sshim@yna.co.kr
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