Excellence in Asian Cinema Award

YAKUSHO Koji 役所廣司

YAKUSHO Koji won the Mainichi Film Award Best Actor prize in 1995 for HARADA Masato’s Kamikaze Taxi. He solidified his place as one of Japan’s best actors over the following several years, earning praise for his performances in Shall We Dance? (1996), IMAMURA Shohei’s Palme d’Or-winning film The Eel (1997), KUROSAWA Kiyoshi’s Cure (1997) and Cannes FIPRESCI and Ecumenical Award winner Eureka (2001). In 2009, YAKUSHO made his directorial debut with Toad’s Oil. In 2012, he was bestowed the Medal of Honour Purple Ribbon for his contribution to arts, and he was awarded the Cut Above Award from New York’s Japan Society and a Career Achievement Award from the Hawaii International Film Festival. YAKUSHO continues to receive international accolades for his distinguished body of work, most recently with the 2017 Nippon Honour Award from Nippon Connection – a film festival in Germany dedicated to Japanese cinema – and the Cinema Legend Award from the Singapore International Film Festival.

In recent years, YAKUSHO has appeared in hit films such as HARADA Masato’s period epic Sekigahara (2017) and KORE-EDA Hirokazu’s The Third Murder (2017). This year, the acclaimed thespian is nominated for Best Actor at the Asian Film Awards for his performance as a detective in SHIRAISHI Kazuya’s The Blood of Wolves (2018). YAKUSHO’s forthcoming films include Wings Over Everest - a China-Japan co-production by Fay YU set for release this year – and KOIZUMI Takashi's Touge – Saigo no Samurai (Original Japanese title), expected to be released in 2020.

役所廣司於 1 9 9 6年主演原田真人執導的《神風七十二小時》，獲日本每日電影獎最佳男主角。其後主 演《談談情、跳跳舞》( 1 9 9 6 )及今村昌平的康城金棕櫚得獎電影《鰻魚》( 1 9 9 7 )，以及黑澤清的《 X聖 治》( 1 9 9 7 )與康城影展 FI P R E S CI國際影評人聯盟獎及 E c um e ni c al獎得主《E U R E K A》( 2 0 0 1 )等電 影，奠定日本優秀演員的地位。2 0 0 9年，他首次執導電影《蛤蟆的油》。2 0 1 2年，獲紐約日本協會頒贈 C u t A b o v e獎，同年獲夏威夷國際電影節頒贈事業成就獎以及紫綬褒章，表揚他在藝術上的成就。 役所廣司憑多部出色的作品，獲得多個國際獎項及榮譽，2 0 1 7年獲專門推廣日本電影的德國 Ni p p o n Connection電影節頒贈NipponHonou r獎，以及獲新加坡國際電影節頒贈電影傳奇人物獎。 近 年 役 所 廣 司 亦 參 演 多 部 賣 座 電 影，例 如 原 田 真 人 的 古 裝 電 影《關 原 之 戰》( 2 0 1 7 ) 以 及 是 枝 裕 和 的《 第 三 度 殺 人 》。今 年 這 位 備 受 讚 譽 的 演 員 在 白 石 和 彌 的《 孤 狼 之 血 》內 飾 演 偵 探，以 出 色 的 演 技 獲 亞 洲 電 影 大 獎 最 佳 男 主 角 提 名。他 的 最 新 作 品 包 括 中、日 合 作，由 余 非 導 演 的《 冰 峰 暴 》以 及 小 泉 堯 史 執 導 的《 峠 最 後 的 武 士 》( 日 本 片 名 ）；前 者 將 於 本 年 推 出，後 者 則 預 期 於 2 0 2 0 年 上 映。

卓越亞洲電影人大獎

INTERVIEW 訪 問

Acclaimed Japanese actor YAKUSHO Koji has appeared in variety of films, including blockbuster comedy Shall We Dance? (1996), Cannes Palme d’Or winner The Eel (1997), KUROSAWA Kiyoshi’s Cure (1997) and Cannes FIPRESCI and Ecumenical Award winner Eureka (2001). This year, he earned his third Asian Film Awards nomination for his ferocious performance in police drama The Blood of Wolves (2018) and is also the recipient of this year’s Excellence in Asian Cinema Award.

When asked what makes a great actor and what the essential qualities to achieve excellence in cinema are, YAKUSHO says, “Actually, I’d like someone to tell me the answer to that." The actor continues, “What I believe is that whether you’re a veteran actor or a rookie, you should maintain an interest in people; make the effort to observe more, and never stop exploring. I’ve always believed that attractive performances come from those who don’t neglect this kind of effort.”

YAKUSHO has also participated in Western productions, but he’s never worked in other Asian countries before. “I’ve always dreamt of collaborating with my brethren in Asian cinema to create a film that we’d be proud to present to the world,” YAUKUSHO says. That dream came true in 2018, when he co-starred with China’s ZHANG Jingchu on Wings Over Everest, his first Chinese production. The disaster action film, directed by Fay YU, was largely shot on location on snowcapped mountains under sub-zero temperature. "It was my first time working with a Chinese film crew and Chinese actors, and it was made under incredibly difficult conditions with a lot of hard work," YAKUSHO says, “Even though we came from different countries, we all shared similar core values, such as care for our fellow human beings. Both on and off the set, everyone in the crew, my fellow actors and myself transcended language barriers and got along swimmingly. This was a truly rare and unforgettable experience.” In 1985, YAKUSHO had a supporting role in classic film Tampopo. Three years ago, the film was digitally restored and screened again around the world, including New York City in the United States. YAKUSHO had this to share about the benefits of film restoration: “Film technology has continuously improved in ways that constantly surprises. However, technology wasn’t the only element that created the classic works that are perceived as masterpieces today; these were produced by people who had the right vision. These films feel fresh to anyone who watch them in any era, no matter how many times they see it. These masterpieces are our textbook and assets.” When asked about which Japanese film he would like to see restored, YAKUSHO chose YAMANAKA Sadao’s Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937): “He made this masterpiece at the young age of 28. Unfortunately, he died during the war, and most of the films he made were lost during that time as well. The Japanese film industry tragically lost a young promising talent.”

YAKUSHO also has this advice for aspiring actors: “Enjoy collaborating with the crew and your fellow actors because they support and care about you. Don’t be afraid of failure and embarrassment; leap into your role with courage.”

THE BLOOD OF WOLVES《孤狼之血》

WORLD OF KANAKO《渴罪》

著名日本演員役所廣司曾演出多部電影，包括賣 座喜劇《談談情，跳跳舞》( 1 9 9 6 )、康城影展金棕 櫚獎得獎電影《鰻魚》( 1 9 9 7 )、黑澤清的《 X聖治》 (1997)以及康城影展FIPRESCI國際影評人聯盟 獎及E cum eni cal獎得主《EUREKA》( 2 0 0 1 )等多 部佳作。今年他憑偵探懸疑片《孤狼之血》( 2 0 1 8 ) 內精彩的演出第三度獲亞洲電影大獎提名，亦是 今年卓越亞洲電影人大獎的得主。

當役所廣司被問及，一個優秀的演員要有些什麼 特質，才能在電影中表演出色時，他表示：「其實我 也希望有人能將答案告訴我。我認為無論是資深 演員還是新秀，都應該對人保持興趣；努力去作更 多觀察，不斷去探索。我一直深信，重視這種努力 並且甘之如飴的人，才會有動人的演出。」 役所廣司曾參演多部西方電影製作，但卻未曾參 與過其他亞洲地區的製作。他說：「我一直夢想能 與亞洲電影同業合作，拍出一部我們深感自豪的 作品，呈獻給全球觀眾。」這個夢想於 2 0 1 8年終於 成真，與張靜初合演中國電影《冰峰暴》，這也是他 首次參與演出中國電影。這部災難動作片由余非 導演，全片大部分都在氣溫零度以下的冰封雪山 上拍攝。役所廣司表示：「這是我首次與中國的攝 製隊和演員合作，而且是在一個非常嚴苛的環境 下進行拍攝，過程十分艱辛。雖然我們來自五湖四 海，但擁有相同的價值觀，例如會關心其他人。無

CURE

論是否在拍攝現場，我與整個製作組及其他演員 均努力溝通，因而彼此能互相了解，融洽相處，超 越了語言不通的障礙。這確實是令人難忘的體驗。」

役 所 廣 司 曾 參 演 1 9 8 5 年 的 經 典 電 影《蒲 公 英》， 這部電影三年前經數碼修復後，在世界各地重新 公映，包括美國的紐約市。役所廣司認為修復電影 有很多好處，他說：「電影科技不斷進步，也不斷為 觀眾帶來驚喜。可是，一部電影能成為經典傑作， 科技並非唯一的元素。擁有偉大視野的人才會拍 出經典之作。無論任何年代的人觀看這些作品，無 論看過多少次，這些電影都會令人感到歷久常新。 這些經典電影是我們學習的對象，也是我們的財 產。」當 被 問 及 他 希 望 哪 一 部 日 本 電 影 會 被 修 復 時，役所廣司選了中山貞雄導演的《人情紙風船》 ( 1 9 3 7 )，他說：「中山貞雄於 2 8歲時拍出這部經典 之作，可惜於戰時逝世，而他當年拍的電影大部分 亦已散失。這位有才華的導演英年早逝，是日本電 影業的損失。」 對於有志演藝事業的演員，役所廣司給他們的忠 告 是：「盡 情 享 受 與 製 作 隊 及 其 他 演 員 相 處 的 時 光，因為他們關心並且支持你，不要害怕失敗和尷 尬，鼓起勇氣全情投入角色中吧。」