You had to because the budget was so small. It was a miracle how we managed to make a three-hour film in cinemascope with so little money. At 61, with a moustache, shock of grey hair, sensitive face and calm voice of a character from a Yasujiro Ozu film, Tomura describes his new career as a conversion. At first, I didn t understand the film language these young people used. The way they worked was new to me.
Ideas come from all sides.
Everyone has something to say and we discuss everything together. For the past five years, Tamura has been working exclusively with this young generation, whose creative energy has given new life to Japan s battered film industry. These filmmakers are all between 20 and 40 years old, and produce their films with extremely limited resources in the world s most expensive city. Some of them have worked in television, advertising or cartoons, and hold down several jobs to make ends meet. They tend to focus on social and psychological themes, like delinquency and mindless crime, which mirror the confusion and malaise of a generation that has rejected the old ambitions of getting rich, blind loyalty to one s employer and social harmony.