Ryusuke Hamaguchi

The native form of this personal name is Hamaguchi Ryūsuke. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Hamaguchi in 2018.
Born	(1978-12-16) 16 December 1978 (age 46) Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
Alma mater	University of Tokyo Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (M.A.)
Occupations	Film director screenwriter
Years active	2001–present
Japanese name
Romanization	Hamaguchi Ryūsuke
Signature

Ryusuke Hamaguchi (濱口 竜介, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke, [hamaꜜɡɯtɕi ɾʲɯꜜːsɯ̥ke] ^ⓘ; born 16 December 1978) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. An alumnus of the University of Tokyo and the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, he started gaining attention in his home country with the graduate film Passion (2008).

Hamaguchi first gained international recognition with the film Happy Hour (2015) and continued with Asako I & II (2018). In 2021, he released two films, Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy and Drive My Car; for the latter, he received two Academy Awards nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. He is the third Japanese director to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director.^[1] In 2023, he released two films Evil Does Not Exist and Gift.

Career

After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Hamaguchi worked in the commercial film industry for a few years before entering the graduate program in film at Tokyo University of the Arts where he studied with and was influenced by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.^[2] His graduation film Passion was selected for the competition of the 2008 Tokyo Filmex.^[3][4][5]

With Kō Sakai, he made a three-part documentary about survivors of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with Voices from the Waves being selected for the competition at the 2013 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival,^[6] and Storytellers winning the Sky Perfect IDEHA Prize.^[7]

His next film, Happy Hour, was first developed while Hamaguchi was an artist in residence at KIITO Design and Creative Center Kobe in 2013.^[8] It came out of an improvisational acting workshop he held for non-professionals, with many of the film's performers having participated in the workshop.^[9] The four lead actresses shared the best actress award and the film earned a special mention for its script at the 2015 Locarno Film Festival.^[10] Hamaguchi was also given a special jury award at the 2016 Japan Movie Critic Awards,^[11] as well as a best newcomer award in the film division of the Agency for Cultural Affairs' Geijutsu Sensho Awards that year.^[12]

His Asako I & II was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.^[13][14]

In 2021, Hamaguchi won the Silver Bear award at the Berlinale with his Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy. That same year his Drive My Car won Best Picture awards from the New York Film Critics Circle, Boston Society of Film Critics, and Los Angeles Film Critics Association as well as "Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language" at the Golden Globes. Hamaguchi was nominated for an Oscar for Best Director for Drive My Car, becoming the third Japanese director to accomplish this feat.

In 2023, his film Evil Does Not Exist was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.^[15] That same year, he released the film Gift, which uses the same footage as Evil Does Not Exist (though with a different story) and is accompanied by a live score.^[16]

Influences and style

Hamaguchi has referred to himself as "purely a cinephile" and "conventionally in love with Hollywood films." He has been influenced by the works of John Cassavetes.^[17]

In April 2024, he listed his 50 favorite films for LaCinetek.^[18] His selection explores various cinema genres and periods, including works from directors such as Robert Bresson, Clint Eastwood, Howard Hawks, Edward Yang, Kenji Mizoguchi and Robert Zemeckis.

Quotes

• "To some extent, all films are fiction and documentary at the same time. I have experienced to make both, and I believe there is no such thing as pure fiction or pure documentary."^[19]
• "The actor is acting in front of the camera. What the camera captures there is a documentary about the actors, because they're doing something which happens only once."^[19]
• (On the multilingual staging in Drive My Car) "In a multilingual staging, of course, they're not understanding the meaning of the words. Instead, the body language and the voice tones is what becomes more important to convey those feelings or the emotional state of the respective actors. It becomes easier to focus and react. That's a nice way I look at it to get a more simple and strong performance."^[20]
• (On the ending of Drive My Car) "Once I talked with a big fan of Drive My Car who said that it really would have been perfect without that ending. (Laugh) Well, I think maybe the reason I ended that way is to make it a bit imperfect." "In terms of the final staging of the play in applause, if I had ended the movie at that point, presumably the audience would want to do a round of applause, and it would almost be like closing of a full circle. But for me that didn't really feel like a satisfying ending. I wanted to do something a bit more disruptive, to leave some sort of break."^[20]
• (On the ending of Drive My Car) "I have no any plans of making a sequel, but I was just sort of playing around with things at the end there. One other thing I'd like to say is that the title itself also might give a clue to how you can interpret the ending."^[20]

Political views

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Hamaguchi signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.^[21][22][23]

Filmography

Year	Title	Original title	Director	Writer	Length (min)	Notes
2001	Go to the Movies	映画を見に行く	Yes	Yes	8	Short film
2003	Like Nothing Happened [24]	何食わぬ顔	Yes	Yes	98	Short version 43 min
2005	The Beginning	はじまり	Yes	Yes	13	Short film
	Friend of the Night		Yes	Yes	44	Short film
2006	Scent of Memory	記憶の香り	Yes	No	28	Short film
	Attack	遊撃	Yes	Yes	17	Short film
2007	Solaris		Yes	Yes	90
2008	Passion [25]		Yes	Yes	115	Graduation work at The Tokyo University of the Arts
2009	I Love Thee For Good [26]	永遠に君を愛す	Yes	No	58
2010	The Depths		Yes	Yes	121	Co-written by Kôta Ôura
2011	The Sound of the Waves [27]	東北記録映画三部作　なみのおと	Yes	No	142	Documentary; co-directed by Ko Sakai
2013	Voices from the Waves - Kesennuma [28]	東北記録映画三部作　なみのこえ　気仙沼	Yes	No	109	Documentary; co-directed by Ko Sakai
	Voices from the Waves - Shinchi-machi [29]	東北記録映画三部作　なみのこえ　新地町	Yes	No	103	Documentary; co-directed by Ko Sakai
	Storytellers [30][31]	東北記録映画三部作　うたうひと	Yes	No	120	Documentary; co-directed by Ko Sakai
	Intimacies [32]	親密さ	Yes	Yes	255	Short version 136 min
	Touching the Skin of Eeriness [33]	不気味なものの肌に触れる	Yes	No	54
2015	Happy Hour	ハッピーアワー	Yes	Yes	317	Co-written by Tadashi Nohara and Tomoyuki Takahashi
2016	Heaven Is Still Far Away [34]	天国はまだ遠い	Yes	Yes	38	Short film
2018	Asako I & II	寝ても覚めても	Yes	Yes	119	Co-written by Sachiko Tanaka
2020	Wife of a Spy	スパイの妻	No	Yes	115
2021	Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy	偶然と想像	Yes	Yes	121
	Drive My Car	ドライブ・マイ・カー	Yes	Yes	179	Co-written by Takamasa Oe
2023	Evil Does Not Exist	悪は存在しない	Yes	Yes	106
	Gift	ギフト	Yes	Yes	74	Created to accompany a live score by Eiko Ishibashi

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref
2015	Nantes Three Continents Festival	Le prix du public	Happy Hour	Won	[35]
2021	Berlin International Film Festival	Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize	Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy	Won	[36]
	Cannes Film Festival	Best Screenplay	Drive My Car	Won	[37]
		FIPRESCI Prize		Won
		Prize of the Ecumenical Jury		Won
	New York Film Critics Circle	Best Picture		Won	[38]
	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Best International / Foreign Language Film		Won	[39]
	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Film		Won	[40]
		Best Director		Won
		Best Screenplay		Won
	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Picture		Won	[41]
		Best Screenplay		Won
2022	Academy Awards	Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay		Nominated
		Best Director		Nominated
		Best International Feature Film		Won
	National Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Film		Won	[42][43]
		Best Director		Won
		Best Screenplay		Won
2023	Asian Film Awards	Best Director		Nominated	[44]
	Venice International Film Festival	Golden Lion	Evil Does Not Exist	Nominated
		Grand Jury Prize		Won

References

1. Tartaglione, Nancy (8 February 2022). "Oscars: 'Drive My Car' Makes History As First Japanese Film Nominated For Best Picture". Deadline. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
2. 里信, 邦子 (20 August 2015). "「ハッピーアワー」の濱口監督、「人は本当に思っていることが言えない」". SWI swissinfo (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 March 2018.
3. "『Passion』濱口竜介（監督）インタビュー". Eiga Geijutsu (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 March 2018.
4. "Tokyo FILMeX Competition". TOKYO FILMeX 2008. Tokyo FILMeX. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
5. "映画に寄せるたおやかなパッション──濱口竜介監督インタヴュー". Flower Wild. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
6. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2013: Screening List". Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
7. "YIDFF: Past Festivals: 2013". Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
8. "濱口竜介監督作品『ハッピーアワー』ロカルノ国際映画祭にて最優秀女優賞受賞／脚本スペシャルメンション授与 KIITO". KIITO (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 March 2018.
9. Sullivan, Dan. "Review: Happy Hour, Ryusuke Hamaguchi". Film Comment. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
10. "Palmarès 2015". pardo.ch. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
11. "Dai 25-kai Jusho Sakuhin". 日本映画批評家大賞 公式サイト. Japan Movie Critics Award. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
12. "Geijutsu Senshō Rekidai Jushōsha Ichiran" (PDF). Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
13. "The 2018 Official Selection". Cannes. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
14. "Cannes Lineup Includes New Films From Spike Lee, Jean-Luc Godard". Variety. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
15. Lodge, Guy (9 September 2023). "Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone's 'Poor Things' Wins Golden Lion at Venice, Peter Sarsgaard and Cailee Spaeny Take Acting Prizes (Full List of Winners)". Variety. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
16. Newman, Nick (25 July 2023). "Ryūsuke Hamaguchi Will Debut His Second New Film of 2023, Gift, with a Live Score from Eiko Ishibashi This October". Retrieved 27 May 2024.
17. Rizov, Vadim (22 May 2019). ""My First Studio, Commercially Made Film": Ryūsuke Hamaguchi on Solaris, Asako I & II and Japanese Film School". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
18. "Ryūsuke Hamaguchi's list". LaCinetek. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
19. The Nikkei [*Japan's economic newspaper] (10 October 2021)
20. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi on Drive My Car | NYFF59, 30 November 2021, retrieved 17 January 2022
21. "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
22. Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
23. "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
24. Like Nothing Happened (short version), retrieved 30 December 2021
25. Japan Society Film | Passion, retrieved 30 December 2021
26. I Love Thee For Good, retrieved 30 December 2021
27. "The Sound of the Waves | YIDFF 311 Documentary Film Archive" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
28. "YIDFF: 2013: International Competition". www.yidff.jp. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
29. "Voices from the Waves Shinchimachi | YIDFF 311 Documentary Film Archive" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
30. "Storytellers | YIDFF 311 Documentary Film Archive" (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 December 2021.
31. "Storytellers | Metrograph". nyc.metrograph.com. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
32. "Intimacies | Metrograph". nyc.metrograph.com. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
33. Japan Society Film | Touching the Skin of Eeriness, retrieved 30 December 2021
34. Japan Society Film | Heaven Is Still Far Away, retrieved 30 December 2021
35. "Senses". Festival des 3 Continents. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
36. "Awards & Honours 2021". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
37. "All the 74th Festival de Cannes Awards". Festival de Cannes 2021. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
38. "Awards - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC". Retrieved 17 January 2022.
39. "2021 WAFCA Award Winners - The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA)". www.wafca.com. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
40. "Current Winners – 2021 Awards". Boston Society of Film Critics. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
41. www.adam-makes-websites.com, Adam Jones-. "Awards - LAFCA". www.lafca.net. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
42. "National Society of Film Critics". National Society of Film Critics. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
43. White, Abbey (8 January 2022). "National Society of Film Critics 2022 Winners List". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
44. Ntim, Zac (6 January 2023). "Asian Film Awards: Decision to Leave And Drive My Car Lead Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 January 2023.

External links

• Ryusuke Hamaguchi at IMDb