Ishiguro talks about movie based on his Nagasaki novel

Asahi Shimbun

19-05-2025

Kazuo Ishiguro, front, and the cast of "A Pale View of Hills" acknowledge the applause May 15 at the Cannes Film Festival (Haruto Hiraoka)
CANNES, France—The movie depicting survivors of the Nagasaki atomic bomb based on a novel by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro drew thunderous applause at the Cannes Film Festival at a recent screening.
Ishiguro, who won the Nobel Literature Prize in 2017, published 'A Pale View of Hills' in 1982. It touches upon the lives of those in Nagasaki after the dropping of the atomic bomb on Aug. 9, 1945.
The novel is focused more on how the hibakusha strove to rebuild their lives rather than on the devastation caused by the bomb.
The movie, directed by Kei Ishikawa, is a look back on the life of the protagonist Etsuko who eventually moves to Britain from her native Nagasaki. Ishiguro himself was born in Nagasaki, but he and his family moved to Britain when he was young.
The movie, screened at Cannes on May 15, is entered in the Un Certain Regard section.
Ishiguro, who also served as an executive producer of the movie, said it was important that its release came in the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Ishiguro said he wrote the novel because he wanted to do something about the many negative stereotypes of Japan in Britain as a war enemy.
He added that he avoided writing about the damage caused by the bomb because he felt that since he was only in his mid-20s when he wrote 'Pale View' he was not yet qualified to write about the tragedy of war.
Ishiguro said he focused on the effects on each individual from a major event that an insignificant individual could not control as well as about the process by which people recover through the courage to make their lives a little better even with the scars that they carry.
He felt that theme had a universal quality.
The movie also does not show any actual damage from the bomb, but the scars of those in the movie are expressed through their conversation with others. They strive to better their lives while also praying for the rebuilding of Nagasaki. Their conversations contain such words as 'hope,' 'dawn' and 'awakening.'
Ishiguro recalled feeling surprised that the movie was very similar to how he described the war in his novel.
He added that it was likely difficult for a Japanese in 1980, when he wrote the novel, to think about the war and why the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan because of the still bitter memories many held.
He said it was easier for him to write about it living in Britain.
He added that in the same way, Ishikawa could distance himself from the war since he is still in his 40s.
Touching upon the fact that his mother died in 2019, Ishiguro raised concerns about the day when there will be no people with actual experience of the war.
He said he felt as though the war had become a myth from the distant past.
Ishiguro added there was a need to find new ways of describing the war so that children and young people will become interested by relating it to what is occurring today rather than describing only the fear and anger felt by the victims.
The movie will be released in Japan in September.
Kazuo Ishiguro responds to an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Cannes, France. (Haruto Hiraoka)