Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Japanese filmmaker
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Ryusuke Hamaguchi (濱口 竜介, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke; [hamaꜜɡɯtɕi ɾʲɯꜜːsɯ̥ke] ⓘ; born 16 December 1978) is a Japanese filmmaker. An alumnus of the University of Tokyo and Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he first gained international recognition for Happy Hour (2015), Asako I & II (2018) and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021), which premiered at the main competitions of Locarno, Cannes and Berlin respectively.
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- Film director
- screenwriter
Ryusuke Hamaguchi | |
|---|---|
Hamaguchi in 2018. | |
| Born | 16 December 1978 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Japanese name | |
| Romanization | Hamaguchi Ryūsuke |
| Signature | |
 | |
For Drive My Car (2021), Hamaguchi was nominated at the 94th Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film was the first Japanese production to be nominated for Best Picture, and won Best International Feature Film.[1] He followed with Evil Does Not Exist (2023), which also received widespread critical acclaim winning the Grand Jury Prize at Venice.
Career
After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Hamaguchi worked in the commercial film industry for a few years before entering the graduate program in film at Tokyo University of the Arts where he studied with and was influenced by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.[2] His graduation film Passion was selected for the competition of the 2008 Tokyo Filmex.[3][4][5]
With Kō Sakai, he made a three-part documentary about survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with Voices from the Waves being selected for the competition at the 2013 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival,[6] and Storytellers winning the Sky Perfect IDEHA Prize.[7]
His next film, Happy Hour, was first developed while Hamaguchi was an artist in residence at KIITO Design and Creative Center Kobe in 2013.[8] It came out of an improvisational acting workshop he held for non-professionals, with many of the film's performers having participated in the workshop.[9] The four lead actresses shared the best actress award and the film earned a special mention for its script at the 2015 Locarno Film Festival.[10] Hamaguchi was also given a special jury award at the 2016 Japan Movie Critic Awards,[11] as well as a best newcomer award in the film division of the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Geijutsu Sensho Awards that year.[12]
His Asako I & II was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.[13][14]
In 2021, Hamaguchi won the Silver Bear award at the Berlinale with his Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. That same year his Drive My Car won Best Picture awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film. Hamaguchi was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for Drive My Car, becoming the third Japanese director to accomplish this feat.
In 2023, his film Evil Does Not Exist was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.[15] That same year, he released the film Gift, which uses the same footage as Evil Does Not Exist (though with a different story) and is accompanied by a live score.[16]
Influences and style
Hamaguchi has referred to himself as "purely a cinephile" and "conventionally in love with Hollywood films." He has been influenced by the works of John Cassavetes.[17]
In April 2024, he listed his 50 favorite films for LaCinetek.[18] His selection explores various cinema genres and periods, including works from directors such as Robert Bresson, Clint Eastwood, Howard Hawks, Edward Yang, Kenji Mizoguchi and Robert Zemeckis.
Quotes
- "To some extent, all films are fiction and documentary at the same time. I have experienced to make both, and I believe there is no such thing as pure fiction or pure documentary."[19]
- "The actor is acting in front of the camera. What the camera captures there is a documentary about the actors, because they're doing something which happens only once."[19]
- (On the multilingual staging in Drive My Car) "In a multilingual staging, of course, they're not understanding the meaning of the words. Instead, the body language and the voice tones is what becomes more important to convey those feelings or the emotional state of the respective actors. It becomes easier to focus and react. That's a nice way I look at it to get a more simple and strong performance."[20]
- (On the ending of Drive My Car) "Once I talked with a big fan of Drive My Car who said that it really would have been perfect without that ending. (Laugh) Well, I think maybe the reason I ended that way is to make it a bit imperfect." "In terms of the final staging of the play in applause, if I had ended the movie at that point, presumably the audience would want to do a round of applause, and it would almost be like closing of a full circle. But for me that didn't really feel like a satisfying ending. I wanted to do something a bit more disruptive, to leave some sort of break."[20]
- (On the ending of Drive My Car) "I have no any plans of making a sequel, but I was just sort of playing around with things at the end there. One other thing I'd like to say is that the title itself also might give a clue to how you can interpret the ending."[20]
Personal life
Political views
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Hamaguchi signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[21][22][23]
Filmography
Feature films
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Like Nothing Happened | 何食わぬ顔 | |
| 2007 | Solaris | ||
| 2008 | Passion | Graduation work at Tokyo University of the Arts[24] | |
| 2010 | The Depths | Co-written by Kôta Ôura | |
| 2013 | Intimacies | 親密さ | [25] |
| 2015 | Happy Hour | ハッピーアワー | Co-written by Tadashi Nohara and Tomoyuki Takahashi |
| 2018 | Asako I & II | 寝ても覚めても | Co-written by Sachiko Tanaka |
| 2021 | Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy | 偶然と想像 | |
| Drive My Car | ドライブ・マイ・カー | Co-written by Takamasa Oe | |
| 2023 | Evil Does Not Exist | 悪は存在しない | |
| 2026 | All of a Sudden | 急に具合が悪くなる | Post-production;[26] French language debut |
Only writer
| Year | English title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Wife of a Spy | スパイの妻 | Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa |
Documentaries
Short films
| Year | English Title | Original title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Go to the Movies | 映画を見に行く | |
| 2003 | Like Nothing Happened[32] | 何食わぬ顔 | |
| 2005 | The Beginning | はじまり | |
| Friend of the Night | |||
| 2006 | Scent of Memory | 記憶の香り | |
| Attack | 遊撃 | ||
| 2009 | I Love Thee For Good[33] | 永遠に君を愛す | |
| 2013 | Touching the Skin of Eeriness[34] | 不気味なものの肌に触れる | |
| 2016 | Heaven Is Still Far Away[35] | 天国はまだ遠い | |
| 2023 | Gift | ギフト | Created to accompany Eiko Ishibashi new album |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Nantes Three Continents Festival | Le prix du public | Happy Hour | Won | [36] |
| 2021 | Berlin International Film Festival | Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize | Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy | Won | [37] |
| Cannes Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Drive My Car | Won | [38] | |
| FIPRESCI Prize | Won | ||||
| Prize of the Ecumenical Jury | Won | ||||
| New York Film Critics Circle | Best Picture | Won | [39] | ||
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best International / Foreign Language Film | Won | [40] | ||
| Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Film | Won | [41] | ||
| Best Director | Won | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Picture | Won | [42] | ||
| Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
| 2022 | Academy Awards | Best Picture | Nominated | ||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Best Director | Nominated | ||||
| Best International Feature Film | Won | ||||
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | Won | [43][44] | ||
| Best Director | Won | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Won | ||||
| 2023 | Asian Film Awards | Best Director | Nominated | [45] | |
| Venice International Film Festival | Golden Lion | Evil Does Not Exist | Nominated | ||
| Grand Jury Prize | Won | ||||