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The Yomiuri Shimbun Tadanobu Asano, left, Masatoshi Nagase, center, and Koichi Sato
By Yoshida Kiyohito / The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:15 JST, September 20, 2024
Wearing a cardboard box as armor, the box man is trying to make the world his own.
A feature film adaptation of Kobo Abe’s novel “Hako Otoko” (“The Box Man”) was released in August.
Director Gakuryu Ishii, a titan of cinema, was supposed to make a movie based on the novel 27 years ago, but the project was abandoned the day before shooting was to begin, becoming a phantom work in the process.
Ishii devoted himself intensely to completing the film “The Box Man” this year, which marks the 100th anniversary of Abe’s birth.
The story portrays a man who chooses to live with his upper body completely covered by a cardboard box, observing the outside world through a peephole without being viewed by others. A photographer, known as “Myself” and played by Masatoshi Nagase, encounters the box man and becomes fascinated by his existence. Then, Myself takes a step to become a box man himself.
However, he faces many challenges: A fake doctor (Tadanobu Asano) is after him; a military doctor (Koichi Sato) wants to use him for a perfect crime; and a mysterious woman, Yoko, (Ayana Shiramoto) tries to seduce him.
The novel was published in 1973.
Ishii met Abe over 30 years ago, and the author told him directly that if he was going to make a movie, it would have to be entertaining.
In 1997, it was decided the film would be a Japan-Germany coproduction, and a huge set was even prepared in Hamburg, Germany. However, the project was abruptly canceled due to financial problems on the Japanese side.
Even so, Ishii recalls, “There was never an option in my mind not to make the film.”
Nagase and Sato were also chosen to appear in the movie 27 years ago.
The Yomiuri Shimbun asked Nagase, Sato and Asano, a new cast member in the film, to share their thoughts on the movie.
Various perspectives and interpretations
The Yomiuri Shimbun: How do you feel now that the film is completed?
Nagase: The best thing is that the audience can see the film. For director Ishii, the film is filled with feelings he’s been carrying for more than 30 years.
Sato: I felt there was a thorn or something like it in Mr. Ishii’s mind that he could not get rid of.
Asano: I had a sense of security that “with these members, the movie will be a success.”
Q: Any behind-the-scenes stories about the filming?
Nagase: It was hotter than I expected inside the cardboard box.
Nagase: I devised a technique to tilt the box a little bit to let air flow inside.
Sato: The position of the peephole was not in line with my eyes. I grumbled about it, saying, “What’s going on here?” We all had fun when wearing them 27 years ago, too.
Nagase: I had to get used to being a box man, so I used to wear a box in my hotel room at that time. I did the same thing at home this time. I gradually became comfortable in the closed space, but at the same time, it’s probably not great that I felt like that.
Asano: I guess we’ll be obsessed with this (laughs).
Q: Can you tell us about the action scenes?
Nagase: Since movement and visibility were restricted, we had to be creative in many ways.
Sato: It was like being asked to turn a curve in a car that you can’t turn.
Asano: I’m grateful to the staff for preparing a stand so that I could squat down and move, and for making a place inside the box to hold onto.
Sato: Audiences can look at it from various perspectives — from the man outside and inside the box — and there can be different interpretations. Because of that, I think Mr. Kobo Abe’s novels are popular overseas as well.
Asano: I think it is also interesting to focus on one of the characters and get into the story.
Nagase: I would like people to relax and enjoy the film. I hope people will come to the theater to enjoy a new “Magical Mystery Tour.”
Q: The box man observes the outside world through a peephole without being observed by others. What is the one thing you never get tired of looking at?
Nagase: I have a cat, and I can watch it for a long time.
Asano: I like to be outside and not thinking about anything. When I go visit somewhere for work, I quickly find a favorite spot and sometimes stay there for an hour or two.
Sato: I’m an indoor person, so I watch live sportscasts at home with the sofa as my backrest. One day, my wife, who came home seven or eight hours later, was astonished to see me in the same position (laughs).
