Actor Kohei Matsushita appeared at the stage greeting for the completion ceremony of the film "Distant Mountain Light" (directed by Ishikawa Kei, to be released on September 5th), starring Suzu Hirose, held in Tokyo on August 7th. Matsushita, who plays Jiro, the husband of the main character Etsuko (played by Hirose), made his first public appearance since announcing his marriage on July 27th. As he left the stage, he smiled and bowed in response to the cheers of congratulations.
Regarding the scene where she co-starred with Matsushita as a married couple, Hirose revealed, "There was a scene where I had to tie (Jiro's) tie. I had never done it before and practiced several times, but during the actual shoot, it ended up being such a short tie, about the length of a kindergartener's (about 15cm)." Matsushita said, "I was surprised. I couldn't help but laugh," to which Hirose replied, "(Matsushita) continued acting, so I thought he was a nice person," and the two looked at each other with smiles on their faces.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro. Set in Nagasaki in the 1950s and Britain in the 1980s, it is a human mystery that uncovers the secrets of the memories of Etsuko (Hirose), a survivor of the atomic bombing. The film was screened in the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, held in Cannes, France in May.
In addition to Hirose and Matsushita, the stage greeting was also attended by Nikaido Fumi, who played Sachiko, who meets Etsuko in Nagasaki in the 1950s, Yoshida Yo, who played Etsuko in the 1980s British version, Miura Tomokazu, who played Etsuko's stepfather Seiji, and director Ishikawa.
