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Crafting Interiors

By Ada Tseng

Actress Ayako Fujitani talks to Asia Pacific Arts about working with Michel Gondry in "Interior Design," his entry to the film Tokyo!.

"Ryo Kase is one of the easiest people to act with," says Ayako Fujitani, of her costar in director Michel Gondry's "Interior Design." She laughs. "Although, he was saying it was easy to act with me too, because I could just stand still, and he could act around me."

Fujitani and Kase play a young couple who has recently moved into the big city of Tokyo. They've arrived with eyes full of dreams but no money in their pockets. Akira (Kase) is a low-budget filmmaker with rampant imagination, always running around and gesturing wildly while he tells stories of ghosts and mutated amphibians. Although Hiroko (Fujitani) is often happy to participate in his whimsy, she begins to feel the weight of their practical concerns. They're crashing at a friend's place, they can't find an affordable apartment that isn't filled with insects or dead animals, there are no job prospects, and her art-obsessed boyfriend thinks she has no ambition.

A film and theater actress in Japan, Fujitani had planned to make her official move to Los Angeles but delayed her flight when her agent came across an opportunity to audition for a Michel Gondry film in Tokyo. A new project was in the works: three non-Japanese directors (Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Boon Joon-ho) were asked to make three separate films about the city of Tokyo. The result is Gondry's "Interior Design," Leos Carax's "Merde," and Bong Joon-ho's "Shaking Tokyo" -- collectively titled Tokyo!.

Adapted from Gabrielle Bell's comic book Cecil and Jordan in New York, Gondry's "Interior Design" was co-written by Bell, with the setting moved from New York to Tokyo. Before each actor auditioned, Gondry asked them to read both the script and comic book in its entirety. "Since the story is a little crazy, it was very important to him that the actors he cast feel attached to it," Fujitani explained.

Although the screenplay was written in English, Gondry collaborated with translators and relied on bilingual actors to shoot the film entirely in Japanese. "I think it worked out pretty well," says Fujitani, who has lived in Tokyo for most her life. "New York and Tokyo are similar in a way -- close spaces, lots of buildings -- but they have different energies. People in Japan are sheltered, in a way. It seems quiet, but it is a quiet, strong energy. In New York, there's a more obvious energy."

Using certain characteristics of Tokyo -- most notably, the cramped living quarters and uber-organized public areas -- "Interior Design" focuses on the relatable stresses that young adults face when they're forced to transition from a life of play to a world of responsibility. Bombarded by pressures about art vs. practicality, hobbies vs. career, Hiroko consistently feels judged because she doesn't fit into society's standards of "usefulness."

"It's a common feeling for someone who is from the countryside," continues Fujitani. "They come to the city, and they feel like they can do something great, but then they find out so many things are expensive. They don't know what to do; they can't find a job. That's why, even though it's about Tokyo, the movie is pretty universal."

A writer herself -- she started writing novels at 18, and her first novel Touhimu (Flee-Dream) was adapted into Shiki-Jitsu, a 2000 film directed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion anime series) -- Fujitani appreciated the Tokyo! filmmakers' challenge. They had to tell a story about Tokyo from the insider point of view, while being foreigners themselves.

"It's really hard," says Fujitani, "but sometimes outsiders can bring a new vision. Some people might think 'This is not Tokyo,' but I think they all did something very honest. Also, all three directors have their own distinct style, so we didn't have to worry so much.

"One day, they had dinner together, and Michel showed us the picture [they took] and said, 'Isn't it funny?'" Fujitani laughs. "They're so different. Those three together in the same room makes you laugh."

During the one-month shoot with Gondry, Fujitani got to roam around with smoke-machine tubing around her neck, act with a fake dummy body, and operate wooden chair legs with her hands while walking on the streets of Tokyo.

While Fujitani had to be physically and mentally flexible for her role -- to convey abstract notions and create the inventive CGI-less visuals that Gondry has become known for -- her co-star Kase found inspiration for his character from a more tangible source.

"Ryo would just walk behind Michel Gondry and copy him," says Fujitani. "How the hood of his sweatshirt is always inverted... Ryo would copy it and use it in the movie." Fujitani laughs. "Michel didn't tell him to do that, but [when we read the character of Akira,] it was obvious to us. It's totally Michel!"

Tokyo! is currently in theaters in Japan and select cities in the US. For more information, click here to go to their official website.

Date Posted: 3/6/2009