Kiyoshi Kurosawa

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Eastern name order Template:Infobox person Template:Nihongo is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film critic, author, actor, and a former professor at Tokyo University of the Arts (2005–2023).

Noted for his psychological films that often focus on ambiguous narratives and on their characters' inner turmoils and quests for meaning and connections, he is best known for his contributions to psychological horror and Japanese horror, notably his acclaimed 1997 film Cure, although he has also worked in a variety of other genres. While most of his work has been in Japanese, two of his films, Daguerrotype (2016) and Serpent's Path (2024; a remake of his own 1998 film of the same name), were in French. The New York Times stated that Kurosawa "is to psychological fright what David Cronenberg is to body horror."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life and education

Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955,<ref name=schneider>Template:Cite book</ref> Kiyoshi Kurosawa started making films about his life in high school.<ref name =ign/>

He studied at Rikkyo University in Tokyo under the guidance of prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> where he began making 8mm films.<ref name =ign>Template:Cite web</ref>

He is not related to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

Kurosawa began directing commercially in the 1980s, working on pink films<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and low-budget V-Cinema (direct-to-video) productions such as formula yakuza films.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1981, his 8mm film Shigarami Gakuen (しがらみ学園) was nominated for the Oshima Prize at the PFF (Pia Film Festival). In 1983, after he worked with Shinji Soumai, he released his first feature film Kandagawa Pervert Wars (1983). He became popular after The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl (1985) and The Guard from Underground (1992).<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the early 1990s, Kurosawa won a scholarship to the Sundance Institute by submitting his original screen play Charisma. Then, he was able to study filmmaking in the United States, although he had been directing for nearly ten years professionally.<ref name="charisma">Template:Cite web</ref>

Kurosawa first achieved international acclaim with his 1997 crime thriller film Cure.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A year later, he completed two thrillers back-to-back, Serpent's Path and Eyes of the Spider, both of which shared the same premise (a father taking revenge for his child's murder) and lead actor (Show Aikawa) but spun entirely different stories.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 1999, the Hong Kong International Film Festival presented his first retrospective, a five-title-program including The Excitement of the Do-re-mi fa Girls, The Guard from Underground, Serpent's Path, Eyes of the Spider, and License to Live.

Kurosawa followed up Cure with a semi-sequel in 1999 with Charisma, a detective film starring Kōji Yakusho.<ref name="charisma"/> In 2000, Seance, Kurosawa's adaptation of the novel Seance on a Wet Afternoon by Mark McShane, premiered on Kansai TV. It also starred Yakusho, as well as Jun Fubuki (the two had appeared together in Charisma as well). In 2001, he directed the horror film Pulse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kurosawa released Bright Future, starring Tadanobu Asano, Joe Odagiri and Tatsuya Fuji, in 2003.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He followed this with another digital feature, Doppelganger, later the same year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both Bright Future and Doppelganger have nominated for the Cannes Film Festivals<ref name=":0" />

In 2005, Kurosawa returned with Loft, his first love story since Seance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Another horror film, Retribution, followed in the next year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> With his 2008 film, Tokyo Sonata, Kurosawa was considered to step "out of his usual horror genre and into family drama."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He has written a novelization of his own film Pulse, as well as a history of horror cinema with Makoto Shinozaki.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2012, it was announced that he would direct 1905, a film starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Shota Matsuda and Atsuko Maeda.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2013, it was announced that production of the film had been cancelled before filming could start.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kurosawa directed a 2012 five-part television drama Penance.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Beautiful 2013, an anthology film featuring Kurosawa's Beautiful New Bay Area Project, screened at the Hong Kong International Film Festival in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kurosawa's next feature film Real, which stars Takeru Sato and Haruka Ayase, was released in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He won the Best Director award at the 8th Rome Film Festival for Seventh Code later that year.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His 2015 film Journey to the Shore was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival where he won the prize for Best Director.<ref name="2015Cannes">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2016, his thriller Creepy premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.<ref name="Shackleton">Template:Cite web</ref> The film marked Kurosawa's first cinematic return to the horror genre since 2006.

His 2017 film Before We Vanish was screened in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival.

His 2019 film To the Ends of the Earth was screened as the closing film in the Piazza Grande program of the 72nd Locarno Film Festival.

In 2020, Kurosawa won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 77th Venice International Film Festival for his film Wife of a Spy.<ref name=japantimes>Template:Citation</ref>

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Kurosawa signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Style and influences

Yasujiro Ozu

Kurosawa's directing style has been compared to those of Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky, though he has never expressly listed those directors as influences.<ref>Cure DVD. “Interview with Kiyoshi Kurosawa." New York: Home Vision Entertainment/Janus Films, 2001.</ref> In an interview, he claimed that Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujirō Ozu contributed to shaping his personal vision of the medium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has also expressed admiration for American film directors such as Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Robert Aldrich, Richard Fleischer,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Tobe Hooper.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a 2000 interview with Time, Kurosawa noted his appreciation for John Cassavetes, stating, "When I watch a Cassavetes film, I am awed by the understanding that people can subtly change in the course of a simple conversation."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Through his association with mentor Shigehiko Hasumi, Kurosawa was also influenced by Jean-Luc Godard.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In a 2009 interview with IFC, Kurosawa talked about the reason why he has cast the actor Kōji Yakusho in many of his films: "He has similar values and sensitivities. We’re from the same generation. That’s a big reason why I enjoy working with him on the set."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to Tim Palmer, Kurosawa's films occupy a peculiar position between the materials of mass genre, on the one hand, and esoteric or intellectual abstraction, on the other. They also clearly engage with issues of environmental critique, given Kurosawa's preference for shooting in decaying open spaces, abandoned (and often condemned) buildings, and in places rife with toxins, pestilence and entropy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In an interview with the Tokyo Art University, where he is a professor, Kurosawa talks about not wanting his directorial style to be too fixed.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The interviewer makes reference to Kurosawa's versatility when they talk about Clint Eastwood; Kurosawa says he admires people who can do many things and that he doesn't box himself into one style or one theme. When asked what he wants to try next, he answered: "The next thing I want to do is something I have never done." Kurosawa also mentions that he has seen many films since he was young, and that he knows there are many great films from around the world. Those films motivate him to be a better filmmaker; he always asks himself how to make films that will be memorable for a long time.

In the same article by the Tokyo Art University, Kurosawa names film critic Hasumi Shigehiko as a mentor and early influence in his filmmaking career. Much of Hasumi's influence would go on to shape the core of Kurosawa's filmography. Kurosawa met Hasumi in University, where he was one of the few students to finish his course, and credits Hasumi with teaching him that film is worth dedicating your entire life to. Hasumi and Kurosawa believe that every element of the film matters and should be meticulously planned. Kurosawa has also stated that one of his goals as a filmmaker is to share Hasumi's teachings.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

  • Vertigo College (1980)
  • Ghost Cop (2003)
  • Beautiful New Bay Area Project (2013)

V-Cinema

  • Yakuza Taxi (1994)
  • Men of Rage (1994)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Heist (1995)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Escape (1995)
  • Door 3 (1996)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Loot (1996)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Gamble (1996)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Nouveau Riche (1996)
  • Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself: The Hero (1996)
  • The Revenge: A Visit from Fate (1997)
  • The Revenge: A Scar That Never Fades (1997)
  • Eyes of the Spider (1998)
  • Serpent's Path (1998)

DVD

  • Soul Dancing (2004)

Television

Acting credits

  • The Funeral (1984) – Assistant director
  • The Legend of the Stardust Brothers (1985) – Customer
  • The Enchantment (1989) – Librarian
  • Stranger at Night (1991) – Taxi rider
  • Reincarnation (2005) – College professor
  • Occult (2009) – Himself

Music videos

Bibliography

Title Year Published Publisher Template:Reference column heading
映像のカリスマ 黒沢清映画史

(Film History of Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

1992 Film Art Inc. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
映画はおそろしい

(Eiga wa Osoroshi)

2001 Seidosha <ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref>
黒沢清の映画術

(technique of Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

2006 Shinchosha <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
映画のこわい話 黒沢清対談集

(Eiga no kowai hanashi, scary story of film)

2007 Seidosha <ref name=":2" />
恐怖の対談 映画のもっとこわい話 (Eigano Motto Kowai Hanashi, More scary story of film) 2008 Seidosha <ref name=":2" />
黒沢清、21世紀の映画を語る

(Kurosawa Kiyoshi talking about 21st century movie)

2010 Boid <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Co-written

ロスト　イン　アメリカ

Lost in America

2000 Digital Hollywood <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
黒沢清の恐怖の映画史

(Kurosawa Kiyoshi no Kyofuno Eigashi - Scary film history of Kurosawa Kiyoshi)

2003 Seidosha <ref name=":2" />
映画の授業 映画美学校の教室から

(Eiga no Jyugyou, Eiga Bigakkou no Kyoushitsu Kara - Film Class, from class room of School of Cinema )

2004 Seidosha
東京から 現代アメリカ映画談 イーストウッド、スピルバーグ、タランティーノ (Modern American film discussion with Eastwood, Spielberg, and Tarantino from Tokyo) 2010 Seidosha
日本映画は生きている

(Nihon Eiga wa Ikiteiru - Japanese Film is Livning)

2010 Iwanami Shoten <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
映画長話

(Eiga Nagabanashi - Long Story about Film)

2011 Little More <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Films adapted into novels

キュア（Cure） 1997 Tokuma Bunko <ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>
回路 (Pulse) 2001 Tokuma Bunko <ref name=":3" />

Achievements

Awards
Award Year Category Film Result Template:Reference column heading
54th Cannes Film Festival 2001 Prize of Un Certain Regard Pulse Nominated <ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
56th Cannes Film Festivals 2003 Competition Bright Future Nominated
61st Cannes Film Festivals 2008 Prize of Un Certain Regard Tokyo Sonata Won Prix du Jury
68th Cannes Film Festivals 2015 Prize of Un Certain Regard Journey to the Shore Won Best Director
70th Cannes Film Festivals 2017 Prize of Un Certain Regard Before We Vanish Nominated
41st Japan Academy Film Prize 2018 Best Director Before We Vanish Nominated <ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
77th Venice International Film Festival 2020 Best Director Silver Lion Wife of a Spy Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
29th Busan International Film Festival 2024 Best Director Silver Lion The Asian Filmmaker of the Year Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Honors
Honor Year Template:Reference column heading
Medal with Purple Ribbon 2021 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notes

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References

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Further reading

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