Acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Chie Hayakawa, whose “Plan 75” earned a Camera d’Or Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival, is back on the Croisette with competition title “Renoir,” a coming-of-age drama set during Japan’s economic bubble of the late 1980s.
The film follows Fuki, a quirky and sensitive 11-year-old girl played by newcomer Yui Suzuki, as she navigates a challenging summer while coping with a terminally ill father and a stressed-out working mother. The cast also features Hikari Ishida and Lily Franky in pivotal roles.
“Renoir” draws deeply on Hayakawa’s personal experiences of losing her father during childhood. “I’ve been thinking to make this story since I was a teenager or in my early 20s,” Hayakawa tells Variety. “But if I had made this film when I was in my 20s, I would have focused more on the child and it could have been more depressed — too dark.”
The director believes her current perspective brings valuable insight. “Now I’m about the same age as my mother and father at the time. I also have two kids, so I understand how parents live and what kind of mind they have. I feel more compassion to my parents now, and I have a different perspective on my past.”
Hayakawa specifically chose to set the story in 1987, during Japan’s economic bubble period, seeing parallels with contemporary society. “Back then, Japan’s economy was growing and growing. People had a lot of hope in our future and we had big adoration and respect for Western cultures,” she explains. “It was a consumption culture. Everyone was consuming everything and relationships between families were weakening. We were losing what was important to us and what’s real.”
The film includes symbolic elements that reflect this cultural moment, including a replica of a Western painting — the Renoir of the title — purchased by the protagonist’s family. “You will see a little episode where the family buys a replica painting, which is fake, but it shows the emulation Japanese people had for Western art. Even though it’s fake, they’re satisfied with it,” says Hayakawa.
“Renoir” represents a significant evolution in Hayakawa’s approach to international collaboration. Along with Japan’s Loaded Films, Happinet Phantom Studios, Dongyu Club and Kinofaction, the project brought together Singapore’s Akanga Film Asia, Arte France Cinema, Indonesia’s KawanKawan Media, and Philippine production companies Daluyong Studios, which previously co-produced Hayakawa’s “Plan 75,” and Nathan Studios, along with technical crew members from abroad. “In the development process, I had the benefit of feedback from producers from France and Singapore,” Hayakawa notes. “For production, I had sound recordists and boom operators from France participating in the entire shooting in Japan.”
This cross-cultural collaboration proved valuable. “The way they work is very different, and technically, I think French sound technique is at a very high level. It was a very good learning opportunity for the Japanese crew,” she adds.
Working with child actor Yui Suzuki, who carries much of the film’s emotional weight, proved surprisingly seamless for the director. “This was my first time working with a child actor, so I thought it would be very difficult. I expected her to need careful direction, but in fact, it turned out to be very easy because she performed naturally without much direction,” Hayakawa explains. “I didn’t really give her instructions on how to say dialogue or make facial expressions — she did it so naturally. My only direction was about physical movements.”
Veteran actor Lily Franky, who plays a key role in the film, brought a unique cinematic presence. “He was amazing,” Hayakawa says. “He was exactly the person I had in mind when writing the script. I always imagined him as the father. He has an eye as a director, so even just standing without saying anything, or sitting in a chair without any dialogue, it becomes cinema.”
With “Plan 75” and now “Renoir,” Hayakawa acknowledges she’s drawn to characters navigating isolation within society. When asked if she’s consciously building a thematic trilogy, she reflects, “Somehow, I’m very interested in solidarity of human beings, so maybe I will keep working on that theme.”
As for her place in the growing presence of Japanese cinema on the global stage, Hayakawa is optimistic. “For the past two or three years, many new Japanese directors have been emerging, so I have a very positive feeling about Japanese cinema. We’re very aware of the problems in the Japanese industry, so we’re trying to make changes little by little.”
She sees her approach to international co-production as potentially influential for other Japanese filmmakers. “Not many Japanese directors work with international co-productions, but little by little, more Japanese filmmakers are trying to make films this way. I think my case can be a good example of working with international production and targeting a global market. It gives people inspiration about how to make films beyond just focusing on the Japanese market.”
