No, he's not related to Akira. There's little in common between the Japanese masters other than sharing the last name. Kiyoshi Kurosawa has been responsible for some of the best and most original Japanese horror films in the last decade and a half. Films like PULSE (KAIRO) -which inspired the ill fated Wes Craven scripted redux, CHARISMA (KARISUMA), DOPPLEGANGER and CURE made him a landmark name when it came to J-Horror auteurs. He's the one that made it all happen, even a few years before RINGU and the JU-ON series shocked audiences all over the world and opened the door for the J-Horror phenomena to invade America. I was given the opportunity to interview Mr. Kurosawa about his latest film, RETRIBUTION (SAKEBI, 2006).

You worked several times with Koji Yakusho, do you ever write characters with him in mind? Was this the case?

When I'm working on screenplays, I never write characters based on a particular actor. If I did, it would prevent me from freely developing characters and expanding the narrative. However, Koji Yakusho is perhaps an exception for me. When I want to deepen the story instead of expanding it, or when I want to create an intricate portrayal of a man's gradual transformation as he comes face to face with society, I tend to write with Koji Yakusho in mind from the very beginning. The creation of "Sakebi" was definitely one of those instances.

What inspired you to write the screenplay for RETRIBUTION?

In the past I've featured ghosts in so many films. In most of them, I've treated those apparitions as something enigmatic and completely beyond the understanding of living humans. Lately, however, I've begun to realize the obvious fact that ghosts are just like any of us human beings. The only difference is that ghosts are human beings who have lived in the past. Therefore, I realized that from this point of view of the past, we may be able to reexamine the relationship between ghosts and humans and also by understanding the past we may learn to better understand ghosts, or human beings who have passed on. This is what got me started writing RETRIBUTION.

The themes of isolation and loneliness are recurrent in your filmography, and are also covered in this film (and in PULSE and CURE too)... You seem to be saying "the most we evolve technologically, the more we die as human beings". Do you think your movies could be considered explorations on human condition? Why?

Loneliness is one of the themes that constantly hold my interest. Yet I cannot simply judge human loneliness as evil. In a way, loneliness is an inevitable social condition for people who pursue freedom. Perhaps in the past, a human being's loneliness was alleviated by God. But now that technology has eclipsed God today (or at least in Japan this is true), it's not possible to seek that kind of comfort. In a way, an independent person in society cannot avoid being ensnared in complete isolation. I wonder if there is any meaning to pursue freedom at the cost of feeling this constant loneliness. It's impossible to come up with an answer and this difficult question has always perplexed me.

Which were the most difficult scenes to shoot in this movie?

The scene when the ghost appears. A ghost is not a monster but a normal human being. It was difficult figuring out how to present such a human with an actor. If I shot normally, the ghost would just look like a living person, but if I used any special effects it would look like a monster. In the end, I've decided to depend on the remarkable performance of the brilliant actress Riona Hazuki.

I noticed some thematic similarities to Polanski's REPULSION, was this deliberate? What do you think of REPULSION?

Polanski's REPULSION is one of my favorite films. He uses the theme of loneliness often as well. While I did not specifically have REPULSION in mind during the making of RETRIBUTION, I derived some hints from Catherine Deneuve's photo as a young girl from the very last scene of REPULSION for that photograph from the past that appears in the last scene in RETRIBUTION, I think the horror of that photo of Deneuve rises out of the fact that we instantly understand that she has been lonely from birth. It is also a moment in which we realize that the past has an overt influence on the present.

How did you get the idea for the characters to be drawned in salt water...?

I live in Tokyo and most of this city is a landfill over what used to be the ocean. Therefore, if you trace the history of this city to the end, you will always run into the ocean. I was hoping to find a good way to represent the tangible (and not just psychological) influences of the past on the present and I came up with the idea of sea water seeping back into where people always assumed to be land. This phenomenon is not entirely fiction as there are times today when sea water erupts from the ground when an earthquake hits Tokyo.

I looked at it as a metaphor for nature getting even with human beings for what they're doing to the planet and themselves... Is that so?

Indeed. As I said previously, one of the most important themes of this film is how the sea buried by humans begins to attack humans in retribution.

Describe your work with actors... Do you allow improvisation or do you stick to your screenplay 100%? BR>
It is a case by case process. In other words, I don't have a personal method of preference for working with actors. It depends on the nature of the actor, the aim of a specific scene or the condition of the shoot whether I stick to the screenplay entirely or I ask for an improvised performance. On a side note, whether it is improvised or staged, what happens in front of the camera can only happen once and you cannot recreate it ever again. I believe that is the essence of filmmaking.

I understand you shot this film in 35mm. (and lots of others too), but you've also worked in Hi Definition in DOPPELGANGER, for example. Why did you choose to shoot this film in 35 mm and others on video? Just because of budget reasons?

In the past it was common to shoot with video when you are on a low-budget production, but today the difference in both cost and technology of video and film is almost nonexistent. I personally think it's fine either way. As I said earlier it all comes down to the fundamental technique of capturing what can only happen before your eyes once and for that purpose it does not matter whether I work with film or video. So, I think it's fine to work with whichever you need at the time.

Tell us about your next projects... Will they include TOKYO SONATA?

We are currently in pre-production of TOKYO SONATA. Uncharacteristically for me, this one is a family drama. It is planned to wrap shooting next year, and it is my hope that you will get to see it and we can have another stimulating interview like this one. I thank you for your time and consideration. I sincerely hope the audiences in Argentina will enjoy RETRIBUTION.