" Scarlet, " the latest feature-length animated film from director Mamoru Hosoda, known for such works as "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" and " Summer Wars ," will be released on November 21st. This is his first new work in about four years since his previous work, "The Dragon and the Freckled Princess," which was released in July 2021, and the themes are "revenge" and "life and death." After failing to exact revenge on the enemy who killed her father, the king, Princess Scarlet wakes up in the Land of the Dead, where she meets a young nurse named Hijiri from modern-day Japan, who travels across time with them. Why depict "revenge" now? We spoke to Director Hosoda about the thoughts he put into the film.
◇Is the era calling for "Hamlet"?
Director Hosoda wrote the original story and screenplay for " Scarlet." The story is set in the Middle Ages, where a revenge-seeking princess travels to the land of the dead... This worldview is quite different from Hosoda's previous works, and has attracted attention since the announcement of its production. Director Hosoda said, "The theme of this film is 'revenge.' I have never made a film with such a heavy theme before."
"I started making this film around the time the COVID-19 pandemic ended. The extremely difficult COVID-19 era had come to an end, and just when we thought it was over, various conflicts began to break out one after another around the world. As I watched these events, I saw retaliation after retaliation, and every day I was shown 'scenes from hell' on the news.' I thought, 'Are we heading into a world that is different from anything we've seen before?' So I began to wonder what lies beyond this cycle of revenge."
One of the motifs that Hosoda used in creating his new film was Shakespeare's "Hamlet," a classic in which Hamlet, a Danish prince, seeks revenge against his uncle, who murdered his father, the king, and took the throne.
"I think revenge stories are a classic entertainment film genre. Everyone finds entertainment in the sense of the exhilaration of defeating a hated enemy. But in today's reality, the world is not filled with good people and bad people, and defeating the bad guys makes you happy. Each person has their own sense of justice, and once revenge is achieved, another revenge story begins. I would have liked the situation in the world to change for the better in the four years it took to make this film, but the war is still not over, and I have very complicated feelings about it. I think the young people of today, who will live in the future, are confused by the uncertain future of the world. I hope that this film will be one that can empathize with their feelings."
The reason he chose "Hamlet" as his motif is because he feels that "young people today are troubled."
"I read Hamlet from high school through college, and I felt that out of all of Shakespeare's works, Hamlet resonated with young people the most. Hamlet is around 30 years old in the play, but as I read it, I felt like he was speaking for the vague anxieties of young people who wonder, 'How should I live my life from now on?' That's why I think it remains such a universally appealing story, even after 400 years."
"Scarlet" is being shown in the Special Presentation section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, where four films based on "Hamlet," including "Scarlet," were also shown. "Although it is a coincidence, I cannot help but feel a relevance to the times," and "This theme is in demand due to the demands of the times."
◇The amazing power of Mana Ashida as the powerful protagonist Scarlett
The protagonist of "Scarlet" is Princess Scarlett, who vows to take revenge on her father's enemies, and is voiced by actress Mana Ashida. How was the protagonist's image created? Director Hosoda says he was influenced by the stage production "Hamlet" directed by Yukio Ninagawa, which he saw when he was a university student.
"Ken Watanabe starred in the film, and Keiko Oginome played Ophelia (Hamlet's lover). It was incredibly powerful. I think Ophelia is often played as a pitiful character with no hope, but I felt that Oginome's Ophelia had a strength that resisted her unfortunate fate. In making this film, I decided to make the protagonist, who has a Hamlet-like position, a woman, because I think the influence of Oginome's Ophelia that I saw at that time is somewhere inside me."
Scarlett wields a sword and fights strong men. Director Hosoda says, "When I thought about how to portray Hamlet in a way that would bring out the modern world, the image of a strong princess who never gives up came to mind."
He was also amazed by the acting of Ashida, who voiced Scarlett.
"Ashida has a public image of being cute and clever. She is completely different from the character of Scarlett, who is driven by revenge. But that difference is what's good about her. She is 21 now, but she has a wide range of expressiveness that she has developed as she has grown into an adult. Usually, people tend to cast characters that are close to the person they are, but by boldly taking on roles that are different from that, it is possible to bring out the hidden powers that a person has. I hope that through Scarlett, people will be able to experience a new charm in Ashida that they have never seen before."
◇The meaning of "endless"
What lies at the end of this cycle of revenge? Director Hosoda has tackled such a grand theme. The word "endless" in the title "Scarlet" is said to contain a sense of hope.
"'Endless' means 'without end'. It can be interpreted as an 'endless' conflict continuing 'endlessly', or, if you look at it positively, it can also be interpreted as the efforts to end the conflict continuing 'endlessly', relentlessly. I think it can be interpreted either way. Even if we are unable to achieve that 'endless' thing now, the next generation may take it over, or they may come up with a new, different way of thinking and put an end to it. I intended the name to represent hope, of never giving up."
While the film has a theme of "revenge," the keyword "forgiveness" also makes a striking appearance. The last words Scarlett's father leaves for his daughter on his deathbed are "forgiveness," and these words become a source of worry for Scarlett.
"In the original Hamlet, Hamlet's ghostly father tells his son, 'Don't forgive me,' and this is where the revenge story begins. But I thought that if he had been told the opposite, 'Forgive me,' it would have caused him even more distress. If he were told to 'forgive,' he would undoubtedly be confused, wondering, 'How can I forgive such a terrible person?' Will he continue to refuse to forgive and spend his life seeking revenge, or will he be able to discover a new way of life that is different? Your life will be completely different depending on how you think about it. The scary thing about revenge is that if you keep thinking about it, your life will end just like that. I wonder if that's really okay."
Director Hosoda said, "There is a famous line in Hamlet, 'To be or not to be,' but in this film I have expressed it in different words." He added, "I would be happy if, through this film, you could think with me about what it means to forgive and what it means to live."
Director Hosoda is trying to portray hope through the motif of a revenge story. I want to experience in the theater what lies at the end of Scarlett's revenge.
