Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

“I want to explore characters that are different from what I have done.”

Actress Rinko Kikuchi had her breakthrough role in the film Babel, and has had memorable performances in numerous other movies.  Her latest work is the film version of author Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood, in which she plays one of the main character’s two loves, Naoko.  After the screening of her film at Japan Society, Kikuchi sat down with Chopsticks NY to discuss this role, her future as an actress and enjoying life in New York.

I heard that Naoko was a role you really wanted, but why did you prefer her over Midori?
Midori was a role that for the most part I could envision myself being able to play, but I saw Naoko as a complete challenge.  This was very scary to me, and I try as much as possible to take those kinds of roles.  With a role that I am comfortable with, there is no feeling of accomplishment and no new door can be opened.  When I have a feeling of fear or the chance to play a type of role that I never have before, I will go for it and this was the case with Naoko.

So it must have been difficult to create the character?
Yes it was.  Over and over I thought about the question of why Naoko had become the way she was, searching for some answers.  After a while, the gap disappeared between the questions I was asking and their answers, and at that point I was ready to begin filming.

Did Naoko’s character develop inside you while filming?
No, before we began filming I was already totally prepared.  But I did have to continuously keep her inside me for about 4-5 months while filming.  That was really tough.

As Naoko expresses her belief that, “People really should go back and forth between ages 18 and 19,” she is gradually losing her composure and beginning to cry.  In my opinion, that scene was the highlight of the movie.  How did you prepare for it?
I actually was 28 years old when I had to play Naoko at 18, but I don’t think I would have been able to play the role at that young age.  Having experience and becoming an adult were necessary for me to understand her.  I was very cool about this scene and could clearly see where I wanted to go with it, so it was just a matter of getting there by collaborating with Kenichi (Matsuyama).  The time before you turn 20 is a period of innocence and beauty.  Naoko was scared of being exposed to society, and through the loss of her love she came to the conclusion that beautiful things and memories will eventually disappear. Because she understood this, she wanted to stay in that fleeting, innocent time between the ages of 18 and 19.  This scene expressed her earnest hope that could never be fulfilled, and it required me to be older than her age in order to grasp what the scene really meant.

You read Norwegian Wood for the first time at 18, but have your feelings toward it changed since making the movie?
They really did.  Making the movie offered the enjoyment of understanding literature by viscerally experiencing it.  Reading a book is flat, like a skeleton.  But in filming it really passed through me for the first time.

Did you have a chance to meet Haruki Murakami?
I am a big fan of Murakami, as his books made me realize what kind of literature I like.  He wasn’t scheduled to attend the same screening as the cast, so I skipped our screening and went to the one he was likely to be at in hopes of meeting him!  I was so happy to see him there, but only got to say a brief hello.

Did he compliment you on your performance?
Not directly, but I later heard from Tran (Anh Hùng, director) who was beaming as he told me, “Haruki said he really liked your character,” which made me incredibly happy.

You mentioned Tran, who seems like a super nice guy.  Was he like that as a director?
No, he was more on the evil side [laughs].  He was really strict only with me.  Due to the nature of Naoko’s role, he kept his distance and pushed me further and further into solitude.  He likely thought this would produce a better performance from me, whereas complimenting my co-stars would be effective for them.  I was really driven away, and on a daily basis I wondered why he was so tough with me and so nice to everyone else.  But when filming ended, I realized in retrospect that it was because he knew he could draw the best out of me that way.

You have constantly appeared in many Hollywood and Japanese films, as well as on tv.  Going forward, do you see yourself moving in the direction of more overseas work or both?
I don’t really categorize it like that, in terms of overseas and domestic work.  All I know is that I will continue to make films.  I want to explore characters that are different from what I have done up until this point.

Can you give an example of a specific kind of role that you’d like to do?
I’ve never done anything in the fantasy realm, or a non-existent character.  I played a witch in 47 Ronin and that was great, but I’d like to try something totally made-up.  Also a truly historical figure, though I can’t think of any famous Japanese women off the top of my head.  But something along the lines of Marion Cortillard’s rendition of Edith Piaf.

How about directors you are interested in working with?
Paul Thomas Anderson, Terrence Malick and Wes Anderson are up there, and of course I’d like to work with Tran again.  Also, I’d like to meet Steven Spielberg as he’s the person who created America’s cinematic history.

Who are some actors you’d want to perform with?
I love Tilda Swinton and would like to work with her, as well as Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn.

You are currently residing in NY, but what do you like about your home country?
One of Japan’s good aspects is the “sensing” of things, considering others’ feelings. Japanese are good at reading a place’s atmosphere, essentially absorbing it. I think this is a large part of Japanese culture, and something that people from other countries aren’t able to do, for better or worse.

What do you find interesting about life here?
NY is such a mix. That’s why I believe you have to come here with an idea of what you want to do or else it’s pointless. I don’t think this is a place where you come to look for something. Unless your will is set and you have a focus, I think this is a really tough country. But in NY it’s very fun to have daily experiences that shake your core beliefs.

On a closing note, as this is the Valentine’s issue what are your memories of the holiday?
I have two older brothers, and I have always been attached to them. So my strongest memories are of making chocolate for them every year on Valentine’s Day.

———- Interview by Noriko Komura
Written by Stacy Smith

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Rinko Kikuchi
Currently the most internationally sought after Japanese actress, Rinko Kikuchi started her acting career in her late teens. She debuted in 1999 with auteur director Kaneto Shindo’s Ikitai, and right after that she got the starring role in Sora no Ana. Her international breakthrough was the role of Chieko in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu‘s Babel, for which she garnered Best Supporting Actress Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. She has appeared in numerous  Japanese and international films, and her latest movie to be released in the U.S. is Norwegian Wood, based on Haruki Murakami’s novel. Her next film, 47 Ronin, in which she plays Mizuki alongside Keanu Reeves, is scheduled for release in late 2012.

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Norwegian Wood

Based on Haruki Murakami’s novel and directed by Academy Award nominee Tran Anh Hung, Norwegian Wood is set in Tokyo in the late 1960s against a time of global instability, depicting a story of loss and sexuality.  Watanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) looks back on his days as a freshman university student living in Tokyo, and during his reminiscences, the film shows that he developed relationships with two very different women, the beautiful yet emotionally troubled Naoko (Rinko Kikuchi) and outgoing, lively Midori (Kiko Mizuhara).