on the set with toyoda toshiaki
On the set with Toyoda. Yokohama, Japan
By
Mike Skurko
I’m a film fan and board member of the SF Independent Film Festival. I grew up in Tokyo and wound up helping translate and act as tour guide/driver for Toyoda-san (“9 Souls”) and Kitamura-san (“Aragami”) when they were guests of the Indie Fest for their films in the ’04 festival.
Toyoda had “Blue Spring” in the ’02 festival and it was a stomping Indie pick. I kept talking about it long after the festival ended. It nailed all that is wrong in the Japanese high school culture. It was beautiful. It was fucked up. An Indie classic. So, I was psyched to see what he’d come up with next. Toyoda-san is a low-key punk rock genius. Like Jello? Uhh… If he were Japanese... He was a former ‘shogi’ chess master in Japan and ultimately with a $200 loan from his parents packed a bag and moved from Osaka to Tokyo with his two guitars. He wrote scripts. He got started with his first film “Unchain,” a boxing documentary. Next up was “Pornostar,” a surreal vision of the yakuza-hating misanthrope. Set in Shibuya-ku it paints a bleak and beautiful picture with hard-hitting rock and nerve jarring slow-motion shots. So? So, “9 Souls.” I had only seen “Blue Spring,” and after giving him a dirt bag/punk rock tour of the Tenderloin (crack/hooker/low brow dead end alcoholic ‘hood), my favorite dyke bar (the wild side west), the Naked Eye Video store and etc., etc…. So, it was hard to sit down with a guy that is clearly cool and think I could be objective. I sat down to that screening of “9 Souls,” thinking, “Hmmm, young guy, made an amazing film…. God, I hope this one doesn’t suck.” It didn’t. It was, without question, the best film of Indie Fest ’04. You were there? You agree? Good. You don’t? You are confused. Very, confused. I won’t begin to describe it. See this movie.
So, we stayed in touch via e-mail. He was going to start filming two new ones soon. In the spring was something he described to me as a “film about a normal-good Japanese family.” Now, having seen all of his films I can assure you that the idea of “normal-good” from the Toyoda perspective is going to be terribly twisted. Perfect. When does he start shooting? I got some dates and then booked a flight. I wanted to see Toyoda on the set.
Jet lag in Tokyo. I’m up at 3am with my girlfriend. Wide awake. Hungry. We are up and off to the Tsukiji Fish Market. It is the largest fish market in the world and is where the giant tuna are auctioned off each day and then shot around the globe in Styrofoam and dry ice, veritable high end culinary missiles. We line up for sashimi at Daiwa Sushi. They open at 5am. There’s seating for eight and a forty-five minute wait. Words fail me. I weep. It is incredible….
I call Toyoda. Phone tag. Miyazaki-san returns my call. He speaks English. I speak Japanese. This is a fun game. We continue. We agree that I will meet them the next day on the location in Yokohama. I spent some time in high school in Yokohama. It’s a port city. It’s nothing special. Not on the beaten tourist track. I’m fired up. We take the subway from our hotel in Roppongi. We change trains. We change trains again. Finally we arrive. I see a group of people milling about and am approached by Miyazaki. He’s polite. He’s on time. He’s got a clipboard. We are told to wait. We wait and others arrive. Technicians, friends, actors etc. Finally we walk twenty feet outside of the station and see the set.
There’s people everywhere. They are filming in front of a department store. Two main actors and a sea of extras. Toyoda dressed in black with tennis shoes and a hat. His hair has grown to shagginess since the Indie Fest in the winter. It’s a beautiful spring day. After shouting “Kaaato!” (cut) He come over and shakes our hands. He’s psyched we could make it. He pops another Hope cigarette in his mouth and fires it up. I ask how it’s going and he looks off to the set. Takes another long draw on the smoke. “Good. It’s been a long couple of days. Not much sleep.” We have a laugh over the concept of the jet lag associated with filming. He looks tired, but is psyched and smiles. Back on the set. The actor and actress do the shot again and again. He’s smiling. Giving advice. They are going again. Each time they return to the set the sea of extras starts again. It is like watching waves break. There is consistency. There is repetition. Eventually? Perfection. It’s a wrap and the mass of assistants, tech, extras and all move on up. We go upstairs for the next shot. This scene has only actors. I have a can of UCC Coffee and continue snapping shots of the filming and off the extras. I talk with a few of them. They are very sweet and ask me if taking pictures is “my hobby. “ A very cute and very Japanese question. I explain I am here because I met Toyoda and saw his film “9 Souls” at the recent SF Indie Fest. Apparently the right answer. They start gushing about his earlier films. They were young and could have been in high school or recent graduates. “Did you see ‘Blue Spring?” One of them asks me. It was the reason she wanted to work with Toyoda. He’s got big time cult status in Japan. Everyone here shares this sense of awe.
Toyoda breaks from the set and comes over. He apologies for being busy. He pops another Hope cigarette in his mouth. He grabs a can of coffee and sips. We talk about the shooting. Going well. Behind schedule. He needs to get some sleep. He’s got assistants with walkie talkies running up with stats asking quick questions. They run off to the set. An assistant with a T-shirt that reads “I’m Fish” runs past with a Tupperware box of cigarettes. Three bands neatly arranged. I notice there are some Hope cigarettes in there. That would be the director’s brand. This makes me smile. Toyoda wants to know when we are leaving. Soon. Too soon. I promise to return for the filming of his next movie, “I’m Flash!” A film about the horribly demented sub-culture of the ‘bosozoku,’ the Japanese biker gangs. Miyazaki joins our talks and begins to take down information about where we are staying.
Before long we are off. The crew is still shooting. Toyoda breaks again and has an assistant run off to get us both T-shirts from the film. Soon we are back in the sea of commuters for rush hour train travel back to Tokyo.
We leave the next morning. A package is waiting for me at the front desk from Toyoda’s production company. Inside are videotapes of each of his films. I had been complaining about lack of distribution in the U.S. I told him my friends would have been so psyched to see his films. They were delivered that morning by a motorcycle courier service. Now, I’d be rolling back to SF with the goods! A chance to see Toyoda in action. Treats to share with the friends back home in SF. Good trip. Good pick. The film we saw translates to “The Hanging Garden.” It is finished and will make the rounds starting in ’05. I’ve since been back to Tokyo recently and it sounds like the first stop will be Berlin. Look for it. After all I’ve seen thus far? It will be another work of mastery. Stamp of approval? Miyazaki and I had ice teas in Shinjuku while waiting for Toyoda a few weeks back. He’s seen the finished product. So? As good as ‘9 Souls?’ “Much, much better.” This from a man and a culture that does not mince words and is generally known for the understated. Needless to say I’m fired up to see this and everything coming from the Indie Master of Tokyo, Toshiaki Toyoda.
Oh, another quick thought. There is no way in hell I would have found this director without the SF Independent Film Festival. Since ’99 I have continually found kick ass film gems. A few of these go huge and many are rare treats you will never see again. Without question the best of the best. The most extreme. The most fucked up. Whacked, beautiful, perfection. In a culture that is forever selling out this is one slice of art that remains punk rock to the core. The SF Independent Film Festival. Plan now. Quit your job. Call in sick. Get a pass. See them all. It is the only place. Cutting edge? A straight razor to the ribs. Sure. I’m ranting, but if you’d seen “Blue Spring” and “9 Souls” at the SF Indie Fest you’d understand. This is the future. Be there.
By
Mike Skurko
I’m a film fan and board member of the SF Independent Film Festival. I grew up in Tokyo and wound up helping translate and act as tour guide/driver for Toyoda-san (“9 Souls”) and Kitamura-san (“Aragami”) when they were guests of the Indie Fest for their films in the ’04 festival.
Toyoda had “Blue Spring” in the ’02 festival and it was a stomping Indie pick. I kept talking about it long after the festival ended. It nailed all that is wrong in the Japanese high school culture. It was beautiful. It was fucked up. An Indie classic. So, I was psyched to see what he’d come up with next. Toyoda-san is a low-key punk rock genius. Like Jello? Uhh… If he were Japanese... He was a former ‘shogi’ chess master in Japan and ultimately with a $200 loan from his parents packed a bag and moved from Osaka to Tokyo with his two guitars. He wrote scripts. He got started with his first film “Unchain,” a boxing documentary. Next up was “Pornostar,” a surreal vision of the yakuza-hating misanthrope. Set in Shibuya-ku it paints a bleak and beautiful picture with hard-hitting rock and nerve jarring slow-motion shots. So? So, “9 Souls.” I had only seen “Blue Spring,” and after giving him a dirt bag/punk rock tour of the Tenderloin (crack/hooker/low brow dead end alcoholic ‘hood), my favorite dyke bar (the wild side west), the Naked Eye Video store and etc., etc…. So, it was hard to sit down with a guy that is clearly cool and think I could be objective. I sat down to that screening of “9 Souls,” thinking, “Hmmm, young guy, made an amazing film…. God, I hope this one doesn’t suck.” It didn’t. It was, without question, the best film of Indie Fest ’04. You were there? You agree? Good. You don’t? You are confused. Very, confused. I won’t begin to describe it. See this movie.
So, we stayed in touch via e-mail. He was going to start filming two new ones soon. In the spring was something he described to me as a “film about a normal-good Japanese family.” Now, having seen all of his films I can assure you that the idea of “normal-good” from the Toyoda perspective is going to be terribly twisted. Perfect. When does he start shooting? I got some dates and then booked a flight. I wanted to see Toyoda on the set.
Jet lag in Tokyo. I’m up at 3am with my girlfriend. Wide awake. Hungry. We are up and off to the Tsukiji Fish Market. It is the largest fish market in the world and is where the giant tuna are auctioned off each day and then shot around the globe in Styrofoam and dry ice, veritable high end culinary missiles. We line up for sashimi at Daiwa Sushi. They open at 5am. There’s seating for eight and a forty-five minute wait. Words fail me. I weep. It is incredible….
I call Toyoda. Phone tag. Miyazaki-san returns my call. He speaks English. I speak Japanese. This is a fun game. We continue. We agree that I will meet them the next day on the location in Yokohama. I spent some time in high school in Yokohama. It’s a port city. It’s nothing special. Not on the beaten tourist track. I’m fired up. We take the subway from our hotel in Roppongi. We change trains. We change trains again. Finally we arrive. I see a group of people milling about and am approached by Miyazaki. He’s polite. He’s on time. He’s got a clipboard. We are told to wait. We wait and others arrive. Technicians, friends, actors etc. Finally we walk twenty feet outside of the station and see the set.
There’s people everywhere. They are filming in front of a department store. Two main actors and a sea of extras. Toyoda dressed in black with tennis shoes and a hat. His hair has grown to shagginess since the Indie Fest in the winter. It’s a beautiful spring day. After shouting “Kaaato!” (cut) He come over and shakes our hands. He’s psyched we could make it. He pops another Hope cigarette in his mouth and fires it up. I ask how it’s going and he looks off to the set. Takes another long draw on the smoke. “Good. It’s been a long couple of days. Not much sleep.” We have a laugh over the concept of the jet lag associated with filming. He looks tired, but is psyched and smiles. Back on the set. The actor and actress do the shot again and again. He’s smiling. Giving advice. They are going again. Each time they return to the set the sea of extras starts again. It is like watching waves break. There is consistency. There is repetition. Eventually? Perfection. It’s a wrap and the mass of assistants, tech, extras and all move on up. We go upstairs for the next shot. This scene has only actors. I have a can of UCC Coffee and continue snapping shots of the filming and off the extras. I talk with a few of them. They are very sweet and ask me if taking pictures is “my hobby. “ A very cute and very Japanese question. I explain I am here because I met Toyoda and saw his film “9 Souls” at the recent SF Indie Fest. Apparently the right answer. They start gushing about his earlier films. They were young and could have been in high school or recent graduates. “Did you see ‘Blue Spring?” One of them asks me. It was the reason she wanted to work with Toyoda. He’s got big time cult status in Japan. Everyone here shares this sense of awe.
Toyoda breaks from the set and comes over. He apologies for being busy. He pops another Hope cigarette in his mouth. He grabs a can of coffee and sips. We talk about the shooting. Going well. Behind schedule. He needs to get some sleep. He’s got assistants with walkie talkies running up with stats asking quick questions. They run off to the set. An assistant with a T-shirt that reads “I’m Fish” runs past with a Tupperware box of cigarettes. Three bands neatly arranged. I notice there are some Hope cigarettes in there. That would be the director’s brand. This makes me smile. Toyoda wants to know when we are leaving. Soon. Too soon. I promise to return for the filming of his next movie, “I’m Flash!” A film about the horribly demented sub-culture of the ‘bosozoku,’ the Japanese biker gangs. Miyazaki joins our talks and begins to take down information about where we are staying.
Before long we are off. The crew is still shooting. Toyoda breaks again and has an assistant run off to get us both T-shirts from the film. Soon we are back in the sea of commuters for rush hour train travel back to Tokyo.
We leave the next morning. A package is waiting for me at the front desk from Toyoda’s production company. Inside are videotapes of each of his films. I had been complaining about lack of distribution in the U.S. I told him my friends would have been so psyched to see his films. They were delivered that morning by a motorcycle courier service. Now, I’d be rolling back to SF with the goods! A chance to see Toyoda in action. Treats to share with the friends back home in SF. Good trip. Good pick. The film we saw translates to “The Hanging Garden.” It is finished and will make the rounds starting in ’05. I’ve since been back to Tokyo recently and it sounds like the first stop will be Berlin. Look for it. After all I’ve seen thus far? It will be another work of mastery. Stamp of approval? Miyazaki and I had ice teas in Shinjuku while waiting for Toyoda a few weeks back. He’s seen the finished product. So? As good as ‘9 Souls?’ “Much, much better.” This from a man and a culture that does not mince words and is generally known for the understated. Needless to say I’m fired up to see this and everything coming from the Indie Master of Tokyo, Toshiaki Toyoda.
Oh, another quick thought. There is no way in hell I would have found this director without the SF Independent Film Festival. Since ’99 I have continually found kick ass film gems. A few of these go huge and many are rare treats you will never see again. Without question the best of the best. The most extreme. The most fucked up. Whacked, beautiful, perfection. In a culture that is forever selling out this is one slice of art that remains punk rock to the core. The SF Independent Film Festival. Plan now. Quit your job. Call in sick. Get a pass. See them all. It is the only place. Cutting edge? A straight razor to the ribs. Sure. I’m ranting, but if you’d seen “Blue Spring” and “9 Souls” at the SF Indie Fest you’d understand. This is the future. Be there.
posted by skurko at 5:27 AM
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