The World Premier of the film MOZU, based on the popular TV drama starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, was held on October 27 as part of the Special Screening section at the ongoing 28th Tokyo International Film Festival. Nishijima was joined by co-stars Teruyuki Kagawa, Yoko Maki, Tori Matsuzaka, Sosuke Ikematsu, Yusuke Iseya, Hana Sugisaki, and Beat Takeshi (Kitano), along with director Eiichiro Hasumi, for a talk show at Roppongi Hills Arena to commemorate the completion of the film.

Nishijima plays Kuraki, a man who feels burned out after discovering the truth behind his wife’s death. Together with retired police officer turned private detective Osugi (played by Kagawa), and fellow officer Akeboshi (played by Maki), the trio investigate a terrorist attack and confront the mysterious “Daruma” (Takeshi), who masterminds Japan’s biggest crimes from the shadows.

Nishijima appeared in 2002 film Dolls in which Nishijima plays the leading role while Takeshi directed the film, but this is the first time the pair have worked together as actors. Nishida said emotionally, “Kitano （Takeshi） is the one who discovered me. I like to think of him as my mentor. To be able to hold my own while acting together with him was a very valuable thing for me.” Takeshi hid his embarrassment, joking, “He’s become so skillful and popular that he’s an actor that can represent Japan, but he’s rude and has never given me one single yen. I’m ready to receive anything. 10 yen, 20 yen, even a sick..”

But Takeshi quickly changed his tune when speaking about the film. He told audiences his pet theory about his mysterious character Daruma. “If you see into it, you might begin to question if Daruma is actually the villain. The film is about more than simple evil and justice. It changes depending upon which position you take.” He said about director Hasumi’s firm attitude while filming, “I learned a lot from how tough he was with us. If you want to shoot something the way imagined it, you have to be firm.”

Kawaga talked about the struggles of filming in the Philippines. “A lot of people went down with food poisoning, and I also had the runs from start to finish. My daughter （in the film） Sugisaki hates insects, so she spent most of her time locked in her hotel room eating twice-cooked pork. I ate nothing but Rao (Cup noodle of NISSHIN FOODS),” he said, cleverly giving mention to one of their commercial sponsors and making the audience laugh. However, the biggest crowd pleaser was, of course, Beat Takeshi (Kitano). As he posed for a photo session with the press, he launched into his original stand-up comedy routine “Comăneci”, delighting both the crowd and the other cast members (Nishijima and Iseya etc.,)

MOZU will be released in theaters nationwide November 7.
 

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