Iwai, Toyokawa, Yamaguchi Reunite at 4K 'undo' Stage Greeting
The event ties the film's revival to the three-way friendship that produced it, with Iwai using the stage to propose another small collaboration with both actors.
Reporting from 1 source: Cinema Today.
Shunji Iwai, Etsushi Toyokawa, and Tomoko Yamaguchi appeared at a stage greeting at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on the 26th for the 4K remaster of 'undo,' 32 years after the film's release. Toyokawa said Kaori Momoi introduced him to Iwai. Yamaguchi recalled asking to meet Iwai after seeing 'Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?' Iwai said the three began talking at an izakaya in Sangenjaya.
'undo' opened for a limited one-week run at Cine Switch Ginza in October 1994, drawing long lines at late-night screenings before a roadshow at Theater Shinjuku in August 1995 set a theater attendance record. The film follows Moemi and Yukio, played by Yamaguchi and Toyokawa, in an atelier-like dwelling where Moemi begins tying the objects around her with string.
Iwai also described how the film reached screens: a producer sought a grant from the Agency for Cultural Affairs ahead of shooting 'Love Letter,' but grants cannot go to a directorial debut, so he was told to edit what he had shot. He said he is glad the three drank at that izakaya in Sangenjaya.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Cinema Today 豊川悦司＆山口智子共演『undo』誕生のきっかけは居酒屋でのおしゃべり