Kore’eda confesses that the manga he has adapted for the screen made him cry like a child

Look Back, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s live-action adaptation of the manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, creator of Chainsaw Man, will premiere in Japan on September 11. This is creating a buzz because it took Cannes by storm with its extreme sensitivity, a hallmark of its director, but surprising because it’s not what Fujimoto is usually associated with, an author better known for the violence and extreme nature of his work. But Kore-eda has wanted to speak up in the mangaka’s defense.

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A story that hits close to home

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter the director said that the manga has rekindled his passion for cinema. “This idea of seeing a young person discover their great passion and pursue it with everything they have… There’s something moving in that“. He added, “I spent the whole time I made this film crying. I cried when I wrote the script, I cried when I was on set, I cried when I edited it… Even when I finished it. I think it has to do with seeing children trying to do the best they can”.

It’s worth bearing in mind that Kore-eda is a father and also an artist. Something that has affected his perspective on the work. He highlighted this by saying, “when they have something they’re truly passionate about, and you see them go after it, it’s moving. Even in a work of fiction, I think it’s very beautiful, and beauty isn’t only visual. It’s the idea of human beings giving their all to something they love”.

While the film still doesn’t have a release date outside Japan, we’ll probably get to see it since we were able to see the director’s latest films, the excellent Monster and Broker, in theaters. So it’s likely that both Look Back and the other film Kore-eda has released this year, the intriguing Sheep in the Box (which was nominated for the Palme d’Or and which has surprisingly horrified the critics), will end up reaching theaters here.