RENOIR © Renoir - Loaded Films
Renoir, interview with Chie Hayakawa
Renoir, the second feature film from Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, echoes her own childhood which was marked by her father’s illness. In the film, Hayakawa explores the feeling of loneliness, the loneliness that, at times appears even when you’re surrounded by family, as well as continuously pondering the same question: can we really understand the suffering of others? Winner of the Caméra d’or Special Distinction for Plan 75, her first feature film presented in the Un Certain Regard selection in 2022, Hayakawa, who is making her first appearance In Competition this year, answers some questions about her new film.
Is the topic of Renoir inspired by your own experience and could you tell us in what sense?
I also had a father who had cancer. I remember the days when I would go to the hospital. What I saw there, the patients, their families, the nurses, and even the smell still vividly remain in my memory.
“My goal was to create a film that would jolt my own emotions more than anything else.”
Your first feature film also dealt subtly with the theme of old age: how important is this subject to you?
It could be that the experience of living with a father who was dying led me to be interested in how people confront death. Renoir is more about a personal family story. The story is for anyone who might be feeling alone even with their family, including my past self.
When is the story of Renoir set?
The story is set in the late 1980s when Japanese society was in a period of transition: moving from the post-war period and becoming a capitalist society. Japanese people were working hard to catch up with Western countries and had a great admiration for Western culture.
Could you please share a few words about the actors.
Yui Suzuki, who plays 11-year-old protagonist Fuki Okita, is an amazing actress. She was the first person to come to the audition. I barely had to give her any direction. She was a natural actress with so much confidence.
Lily Franky, who plays her father, Keiji Okita, is a great artist, novelist, and actor. I especially love his autobiography, “Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and sometimes Dad” (2005) which gave me a lot of inspiration when I was writing the script.
Hikari Ishida, who plays her mother Utako Okita, was very invested in the project. I was overwhelmed by her performance.
