Latest news with #TheLastBlossom
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Odd Taxi's' Baku Kinoshita on His Melancholic Feature Debut ‘The Last Blossom,' Premiering in Annecy
There's a deep melancholy emanating from 'The Last Blossom,' Baku Kinoshita's anime feature, playing in competition at this year's Annecy Animation Festival. Kinoshita's directorial debut tells the story of Minoru Akutsu, a former yakuza dying in a solitary prison cell after a life sentence. His only company is a potted balsam flower. The filmmaker puts a whimsical twist on a rather dark tale by having that flower converse with Akutsu, who tells it the story of his life before imprisonment. The flower is animated with expressivity and liveliness, speaking to Akutsu and questioning why he didn't take certain paths, as if his own conscience were talking back to him. More from Variety Sentient Acorns, Badass Grandmas and Underwater Knights Feature Among MIFA's 2025 Feature Pitches Key Latin America Animation Titles to Come Under the Spotlight at Annecy-MIFA's La Liga Focus 'Edmond and Lucy' Returns With Season 2 From MIAM! Animation: Feature Adaptation in Development Variety spoke to Kinoshita about the adjustments of making a first feature following the film's screening at the festival. When 'Odd Taxi' came out, many people compared it to Martin Scorsese's work. I wondered what character dramas you had in mind for 'The Last Blossom.' A friend told me it reminded them of Takeshi Kitano. Exactly that. I love Scorsese and Takeshi Kitano has been a big, big influence on me, and so I guess with this, yeah, I was influenced by [Kitano]'s worldview and the way he structures his stories, the way the shots are pieced together. With Takeshi Kitano's films, you might have a blue sky and lovely sunny sky and some beautiful greenery, and then behind the bushes someone's being murdered, 'cause it doesn't matter what the weather's like or if someone's being murdered. It gives you a sense of truth or reality. It's quite a sorrowful story. Why did you want to tell it? I like this idea of finding release from something restraining you psychologically. It was the same in 'Odd Taxi' and in 'The Last Blossom,' and I got to share that with the screenwriter [Kazuya Konomoto] as well. So, while this film is about a yakuza, the heart of the story is showing the life of someone who's kind of gone off the rails in society. So yes, his job is being a yakuza, but I wanted to focus on his life and, you know, the space that he lives in, how he talks to his family, what his interests are. The animation is very reserved; in much of the film, there's a lot of stillness, but here you have this character of a very animated balsam flower. Since the rest of the film is more realistic in tone, I wanted to ask what inspired you to have this kind of character. I wanted the flower to be the opposite character to Akutsu. I thought it would be an attractive contrast if I made this huge gap between their characters. Well, maybe it's obvious, but Akutsu doesn't change shape or take different forms; he's very quiet, whereas the flower is funny and flexible and has a lot of freedom, very animated, as you say. I thought the freer I made the flower, the bigger the contrast with Akutsu, and the more his particular characteristics would stand out, which in turn makes the characteristics of the flower more obvious. And so for me, it was very important to create the atmosphere of the film by making the flower very elastic. Speaking of that atmosphere, I remember in your work-in-progress session from last year you spoke about the film being about 'stillness, movement and stillness' in its rhythm, and I wanted to ask your thoughts on the most important way of creating that rhythm. I think – and this is sort of instinctive – but you'll see that after there's a really still scene, sometimes I'd put in a burst of action without anything in between. So just quiet, quiet, and then action. I've done that on a few occasions throughout the film, to stop the audience getting… bored? That's intentional, and it's also kind of instinctive, but it's very important, I think, for the rhythm of the film. Zooming out a little bit, were there any major adjustments from directing a series to directing a feature? A film is just much shorter, and that means that you can focus much more on every single shot, which makes it feel like you're doing something worth doing, because you can put so much energy into the quality that you're creating. Was there a moment during the 'The Last Blossom' production that made you realize that? Well, with this film, I checked every single frame. All the background art, all the character movement, every inch of every frame I checked myself. So it was just a different level of detail in the checking that I did, a different quality and a different quantity. 'The Last Blossom' is grounded and original. In animation, it's often difficult to get an original drama, let alone one this understated, off the ground. Well, I do feel that I was very, very lucky to get the opportunity to make an original animation like this. I've always wanted to make animation that doesn't exist in Japan or hasn't existed in Japan in the past. I also thought that I had a chance with this and that there was probably someone out there who wanted to see this film. Going back to the process of making the film, you spoke before about referring to anime from the '80s in terms of the tone of the sequences set in the past. Could you discuss how you went about that? For example, with the background arts, I used vivid, close-to-primary colors. I wanted to rely as little as possible on filming effects, so with the background colors I referenced films like – well, it wasn't from that long ago – but 'Lilo and Stitch' and its use of strong color. A lot of this process sounds like you wanted to be quite restrained in the techniques you're using, you wanted to be economical and straightforward. I can imagine that there's the temptation to keep adding elements. It's tricky for me. Trying a whole bunch of different things is quite risky. My philosophy is to try not to overreach, to make the most beautiful thing I can within my abilities. I did get told off quite a bit from the team for changing things partway, though. For example, after I'd drawn Akutsu's face quite a bit, it gradually got more refined, and I quite liked the way it changed, so then I went back to the beginning and said we had to change him from the beginning. Because this film runs on a theme that's so personal to you, what were you hoping an audience would take away from it? This idea of being released from something that's holding you in. I think, to put it another way, quite simply, it's change, and I see value in people changing. For example, if you have a boy at school who's really shy, really inward-looking, and then the next day he manages to say 'hello.' There's change. It's the same idea that I'm getting at – the opportunity for huge richness, which applies to everybody. No matter how small the change is. However small the change, I think it's beautiful and worthwhile. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kid Koala Talks Processing Grief Through ‘Space Cadet' as His Debut Feature Sells Wide: ‘People Keep Telling Me it Made Them Cry' (EXCLUSIVE)
'Space Cadet' is ready for launch. The animated feature – screening in Annecy's Contrechamp section – has shot for the stars in multiple territories for Urban Sales, selling to BAC Films (France), Filmin and Vercine (Spain) Benelux – Periscoop (The Netherlands), JEF (Belgium), Eksystent (Germany), Filmladen (Austria), Folkets Bio (Sweden), Angel Films (Denmark), Fivia (Ex Yugoslavia), Alfazbet (Japan), Hope Content (Taiwan) and Aeon Entertainment (Vietnam). More from Variety Miyu Backs Bittersweet Coming-of-Age Tale 'We Are Aliens' From Music Video Maestro Kohei Kadowaki (EXCLUSIVE) 'Odd Taxi's' Baku Kinoshita on His Melancholic Feature Debut 'The Last Blossom,' Premiering in Annecy Sentient Acorns, Badass Grandmas and Underwater Knights Feature Among MIFA's 2025 Feature Pitches 'People keep telling me it made them cry,' admitted director Eric San, better known as Canadian scratch DJ Kid Koala. The story is based on his own graphic novel, which he wrote back in 2009, following his grandmother's passing. 'She enjoyed Charlie Chaplin films. That's one of my fondest childhood memories: watching Chaplin with her. She would come visit us in Canada and didn't speak a word of English. These were the only movies we could share together.' At the time of her death, he was also expecting the arrival of his first daughter. 'My brain literally went in two different directions. I kept reminiscing about the times I'd spent with my grandparents and my parents, these special moments that really shaped my personality and my outlook on the world. Then I was also thinking about my daughter and the things I could share with her,' he recalled. 'When people talk to me about the movie, they mention sadness, but I feel it's more bittersweet. I value that I got to spend all that time with my grandmother and all the profound things she taught me.' Funnily enough, in a film dedicated to 'our grandparents,' they are nowhere to be found. Instead, little Celeste spends her days with a kind guardian robot. Her mum is an astronaut, away on dangerous missions. When Celeste grows up, she also decides to reach for the moon, but her old robot needs to stay on Earth. 'Watching Chaplin with my grandmother inspired me to learn about film production and art, but it also made her laugh, and I'd never seen that before. She was quite stoic, or maybe just a little shy. Even at six years old, I remember thinking: 'When I grow up, I want to create this kind of energy in a room.' My career has taken different courses, but at its heart, there's this idea of sharing fun and emotion, and creativity, and bringing people together.' As Kid Koala, he has toured with Radiohead, the Beastie Boys and Arcade Fire, he's contributed to soundtracks for 'The Great Gatsby' and 'Baby Driver' and composed music for Cartoon Network, Sesame Street and Adult Swim. Music is also important in his dialogue-free film. 'It deals with cycles of generations, and there are flashbacks allowing you to understand the special bond between Celeste and her guardian robot. I wanted them to feel nostalgic. I went back to my first instrument, which was piano.' In the past, he accompanied the original graphic novel with an album as well. 'My daughter had just been born, and her crib was just six feet away from my piano. I recorded it with headphones: these were essentially lullabies. I remember writing it with my right hand and holding her in my left, trying to soothe her. A lot of these musical cues were brought into the film.' He felt the songs in 'Space Cadet' needed to be 'comforting moments,' and came up with new versions of some established classics. He also had some help. 'I reached out to literally my shortlist of favorite singers on the planet. Karen O, Emiliana Torrini, Trixie Whitley, Martha Wainwright, Meaghan Smith and Ladybug Mecca from Digable Planets.' Celebrating life's little moments was a priority in the story. 'My older daughter just graduated from high school this week, and I was so glad I could be there for that. It was a big milestone. But looking back on my childhood, it was some of these days that my parents don't even remember that really stand out.' He added: 'The idea of every moment being a gift is something I've always tried to remember, but the operative word was 'space.' I'm a scratch DJ – it's easy for me to fill every second with noise. But I needed to give space to the story and music, and space to the viewers for them to think about their own childhood.' The film marks a 'full circle' moment for San. After graduating from high school, he applied to NYU, thinking about pursuing animation. That dream had to wait. 'I was accepted, but it was very expensive for us at the time. I chose not to pursue it. Instead, I studied to become an elementary school teacher. Later, even when I signed my first record deal, I would still draw my album covers and create comic books.' Ginette Petit, who produced 'Space Cadet' for Les Films Outsiders with Nathalie Bissonnette – with Mylène Chollet writing the script – came to his tour and bought the book. 'Two weeks later, she reached out, saying: 'I want to turn it into a movie.' I never expected it to happen.' San is currently showing the film at Annecy, where 'all these sensitive, introverted animators finally get to cut loose, yelling and throwing paper airplanes at the screen.' But it might not be a one-off experience. 'I would like to maybe follow a different character within the same universe. So many of my stories seem quite fantastic – a mosquito plays clarinet, moves to the big city and tries to join the orchestra – but I was also thinking about 'Space Cadet's' delivery bot. It delivers parcels every day and gets an insight into so many lives.' Before that happens, he hopes his film, and the story it tells, will help people process grief. Just like it helped him. 'When I was teaching, our class pet bunny had passed away, and the whole class was just wrecked. Everybody was crying. We decided to write, or draw, what that bunny meant to us. The kids were able to grieve through this project. That's in the DNA of the film,' he noted. 'My daughter had a fish once, and at one point, it started to swim strangely. I basically told her: 'I don't think it's gonna be with us for much longer.' She grabbed her little digital camera and started taking pictures of this sick fish. She said: 'I need to remember. '' 'Kids have high emotional intelligence: when it comes to things like death, they understand it. It's the adults who get nervous, because they don't want to rain on the parade of childhood. But death is a part of life.' 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