Bi Gan

“[Translated] Youth of the Beast. When did I watch this film? It was sometime in the last two years. I was amazed by the film's use of sound and image, and the editing was especially great. So I grabbed it as soon as I saw it.”

“[Translated] I'm especially happy to pick up this film. This is one of my favorite films. On the surface, it looks like a story about ramen, but it's actually about what lies in the depth of the human heart: that warmest, most beautiful thing. That's why it's one of my favorite movies. Every so often, I go back and rewatch this film. At one point, I even imagined myself making a film like this.”

“[Translated] Now I've noticed this film by Dreyer. These days I'm very, very fond of Dreyer. Recently I rewatched one of his films, Day of Wrath. Even though that film is about a historical incident related to witchcraft, it touches on deep-seated things in our humanity that are evil... And hard to articulate. Things that can only be expressed through cinema. So watching Day of Wrath really shocked me. It wasn't just a reaction to the historical incident or that era. It was a reaction to something more profound. And that "something" was fully expressed through his cinematic language. I remember there was something like an embroidered panel in the film. As the story evolved, the artwork and the figures on the panel also changed, if I remember correctly.”

“[Translated] This is my favorite film. I revisit it every few years. Like Tarkovsky, a lot of Fellini's films have influenced the way I make films. Because in this film, his approach to the subconscious and dreams is truly brilliant. I often have dreams about that shot, where the leg is suspended high in the air, about to fall, and someone is pulling it. So today I'll end with this film, and I'm going to take this big bag of goodies home.”

“[Translated] Last time, I picked up a Jacques Tati Blu-ray set. Now I'm going to pick up another. I gave that last set to a friend, so this time I'm going to pick a big one. He's a director that I'll always love. Because, for me... I really want a film to be full of humor. Even though it's hard for audiences to see the humor in my films, I'm actually very influenced by him. Especially by his use of staging and blocking.”