Ryuhei Kitamura + Shunji Iwai = Bandage?

Reader Comments

1. stauffen 11/04/2005 @ 10:13am

   It’s now also on http://www.ryuhei-kitamura.com/ .

   05.08.07

   New Kitamura Project “Bandage” production is now announced.

   Get ready for “Bandage” . A music-band movie written by Shunji Iwai!

   Distribution company HP: http://www.gaga.ne.jp

2. Jake Brahm 11/04/2005 @ 12:28pm

   This is terrible news. Ryuhei Kitamura is possibly the worst Japanese director alive today; all of his films are boring, with a lack of any geniune creativity. Shuni Iwai, on the other hand, could be one of the greatest living Japanese directors. I wonder why he would ever want to work with Kitamura.

3. Ryan 11/04/2005 @ 1:38pm

   Is Iwai going to actually work with him on this or is he just selling the script to whoever is getting Kitamura to direct it?

   If it’s the latter and just to fund his next movie Iwai could sell 10 scripts to the Weinstein’s for all I care.

4. Todd 11/04/2005 @ 1:52pm

   From the looks of things over at Stauffen it sounds like Iwai hand picked Kitamura to shoot it. And to answer Jake’s question: why would Iwai wnat to work with Kitamura? Name another Japanese director with the stylistic chops to shoot a rock and roll movie. Ishii seems to have outgrown that phase of his life. Toyoda’s in jail for god knows how long. Iwai’s own work is much smaller scale, more thoughtful and meditative. Kitamura makes perfect sense to me in that context. And Kitamura’s problem has never been the technical end - he shoots consistently gorgeous film and is a dead solid editor - but with his scripts. With Iwai handling the script that problem’s solved.

   If someone can translate the Japanese at the link above I’m sure there’ll be more details there ...

5. stauffen 11/04/2005 @ 2:00pm

   The movie will be part of Iwai’s (?) production-company “Playworks” project SEEDS OF MOVIES.

6. Jake Brahm 11/04/2005 @ 3:39pm

   Ryuhei Kitamura has directed only fantasy/sci-fi films. Shunji Iwai has written mostly realistic drama stuffs. I don’t see how the two will mesh very well at all.

   Also, calling Ryuhei Kitamura films gorgeous is a strech. To me they’ve always been more bland, and unimpressive. Kitamura has only edited two of his own films, so I’m not sure how much of a dead solid editor he is either.

7. Todd 11/04/2005 @ 8:54pm

   Not quite true ... Kitamura has mostly done sci-fi genre stuff but his first one was a small little crime film. Very nicely shot and put together, with decently well realized characters and very much set in the real world.

8. Geir F 11/05/2005 @ 6:21am

   Not sure which Ishii you’re referring to, Todd, but I think both Sogo Ishii and Katsuhito Ishii could pull off a movie like that with all the required style.

   As for Iwai - he has directed mostly realistic dramas, yeah, but who knows what else he has actually written? I interviewed him about a month ago, and one of the things he talked about was how he found it hard to get science fiction/fantasy-type movies financed. Maybe working with Kitamura is a way for him to get a foot in the sf/fantasy door, so to speak.

9. logboy 11/07/2005 @ 3:13am

   kitamuras output doesnt necessarily show his entire ability as a director, and the genres are just that - the sheen, the style - not the ability to construct or convey stories in an individual manner.

10. GAPS 11/08/2005 @ 6:20am

    Toyoda’s in Jail? Man, I’ve been out of the loop for far too long… just catching up on two month’s worth of Twitch reading now… dear lord you guys write a lot… got about 20 trailers to work through in a minute, and that’s avoiding anything streaming.

    But this sounds like very interesting news to me. It might just work, and if it doesn’t, then it’s no real skin off Iwai’s nose, and just another notch on Kitamura’s too-bad list.
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