Re:Interview with the movie “Candidacy” with “Those Who Never Give Up”

Interview/text: Masamasa Nishino

Do you remember the documentary film “Candidacy” that was featured on MAGCUL.NET last March? This work closely follows the so-called "foam candidates" in the election, and while it may seem like a joke at first glance, the author was shocked by the content, which defies expectations in various ways, with laughter and emotion. We interviewed producer Tetsuya Kinouchi. After that, the film went around Japan, and was even invited to film festivals in Germany and Switzerland, showing that the reaction is spreading not only in Japan but all over the world. Now that the movie ``Candidacy'' is finally available for rental nationwide, MAGCUL.NET once again conducted an exclusive interview with him. The interview guests include director Toshimitsu Fujioka, who we weren't able to talk to last time, Mac Akasaka, who is the key visual for the movie, and Kuriki, a mountaineer who is attempting to climb Everest alone and without oxygen in the fall. It was a luxurious lineup with Mr. Fumita. Just before the start of the nationwide rental commemoration event ``An Evening for People Who Never Give Up'', we spoke to ``People Who Never Give Up'' about the movie ``Candidacy.'' Please take a look.

*Click here for an interview with Tetsuya Kinouchi, producer of the movie “Candidacy”

<Performer profile>
Nobukazu Kuriki
Born in Hokkaido in 1982. He began mountaineering after joining the university's mountaineering club and has climbed the highest peaks on six continents. After that, he climbed four 8000m peaks solo and without oxygen. He has attempted to climb Mount Everest four times, not in the spring when there are many climbing teams, but in the fall when the weather conditions are harsh. We will be broadcasting the mountain climbing live on the Internet to share the adventure with everyone who climbs the invisible mountain. Although he suffered frostbite on his hands, feet, and nose while climbing the west ridge of Everest in the fall of 2012 and lost most of nine fingers, he made a spectacular comeback by climbing Broad Peak (8,047m) alone and without oxygen in July 2014. fulfilled.

Toshimitsu Fujioka
Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1976. Graduated from Ritsumeikan University in 1999 / Graduated from Osaka Visual Arts in 2001 / Worked at a TV commercial production company in 2002 / Directed and screened Missile at Fujiyama in 2005 / Directed and screened the movie "Candidacy" in 2013

Mac Akasaka (Mac Akasaka)
Born in Aichi Prefecture in 1948. Businessman with annual sales of 5 billion yen / President of the Smile Party / Chairman of the Smile Therapy Association / Graduated from Kyoto University / Formerly employed at Itochu Corporation / Lost election 5 times (as of November 2011) / 0 Smile Party members (as of November 2011)

Movie “Candidacy”/Encounter and opportunity for production

(c)word＆sentence

- Thank you for your cooperation today. Mr. Fujioka and Mr. Mac have a relationship as both the photographer and the person being photographed, but did Mr. Kuriki know them from the beginning? We would appreciate it if you could introduce us, including your own activities.

Kuriki : This is my first time meeting director Fujioka. I'm a mountaineer, and there are 14 8000m-class mountains in the world, and I've climbed 4 of them by myself and live-streamed the scenery while climbing under the theme of ``sharing the adventure.'' doing. I have attempted Mount Everest four times during difficult times, and in fact, in the fall of 2012, I suffered severe frostbite and had to have nine fingers on both hands amputated at the second joint. When I was feeling depressed, I came across the movie ``The Candidate'' and was so moved that I went to the theater four times, thinking, ``This movie is amazing.'' And he almost joined the Smile Party (lol). By the way, I once said hello to Mac when he came out of the Pole Pole Higashi-Nakano movie theater, but he was drunk so I wonder if he remembers it (lol).

Mac : My weakness is that I'm always drunk. By the way, if you pay 2000 yen, you can join the Smile Party. No screening (lol).

Fujioka : Is that so? (lol)

Kuriki : By the way, I also met producer Kinouchi-san for the first time at that time, and Kinouchi-san contacted me about today's talk, so I came here thinking that I would definitely like to participate. (*The interview was recorded before the event commemorating the start of the rental. After the recording, a talk between the three people was held.)

- I'm already a big fan. Why did this movie resonate with Kuriki so much?

Kuriki : After all, the way of life is important.In the internet world, successes and failures are often seen as superficial things, but you still have to be able to see through the person's way of life and their true nature. That's what I thought. Everyone laughs when they watch the movie ``The Candidate.'' I think there are some parts where I'm making fun of them, but I think people are surprised when they're confronted with the truth... I've never seen a documentary like that before.

- I had the same impression when I saw it for the first time. At first I was laughing, but as the story progressed toward the end, the structure of the story made me think about the questions that came back to me like a boomerang. I would like to ask Mac-san about his story, but how did you feel when you first received the shooting request?

Mac : At the time, my secretary was taking care of me, but I had heard that it was not a movie that would be screened by a professional, but rather a movie that would be screened by amateurs for their family members only, and it was also around the time of the Osaka prefectural gubernatorial election. All I thought was, "Why don't you try taking pictures?"

- At first, it wasn't planned to be a movie.

Fujioka : I think the original proposal explained that it was an interview project that would be shown in mini-theaters and on the internet. When I went to see Mr. Mac, he said, ``You guys are lucky because I'm about to vote!'' (laughs)

Mac : That's why I went out without any pay (lol).

Fujioka : At first, the project was like, ``Let's interview people who say it's a dream and see if they really want to do it.'' At that time, I had given up on being a film director and had returned to my parents' home in Yamaguchi, and at that time I had a sudden feeling that I wanted to take on just one more challenge. But just when I thought I couldn't do it now, I said, ``No, wait a minute.'' I'm sure there are many people in Japan who are even more stupid than me, and who do what they want to do even though everyone tells them they can't do it. By meeting such people, I thought that the challenges I would take on from now on would not just be a dream, but a ``goal.'' At first, I was curious about Koichi Toyama 's political broadcasts, so after doing some research, I decided to combine them with political broadcasts, so I started researching to see if anyone was famous. That's when I came across Mr. Mac.

- At first, you weren't planning to narrow it down to Mac.
Didn't the idea of finishing it in a form that closely resembles Mac come up right away as the shooting progressed?

Fujioka : The original theme was ``Dream Chasers,'' so Mac is a famous person, isn't he? I can kind of understand why this person would appear. But I really felt like I wanted to include everyone who wasn't like that. I even had a discussion with Mr. Kinouchi (producer) saying, ``Maybe it's okay to just have Mr. Mac.'' But if you do that, you will be discriminated against among the pool of candidates, and at the very least, if you become an audience member, you will definitely be concerned. Why are you discriminating?

- Regarding that, I think it's easy to misunderstand that we're just focusing on people who stand out, but was there something that led you to narrow it down to Mr. Mac?

Fujioka : I didn't want it to feel like ``I arrived at Mr. Mac by process of elimination.'' At first, I shot scenes with just Hashimoto-san and only focused on the Osaka prefectural gubernatorial election, resulting in a movie that lasted about two and a half hours, but all I could do was get angry at Mac. I don't say bad things.

Kuriki : You're not going to do it? (lol)

Fujioka : Yes. "Don't show me anything silly!" But that's different. It's a scene that appears in the movie, but there was an exchange with Mr. Hashimoto, and when Mr. Mac pulled out the words from Mr. Hashimoto and said, "Please smile!", I was a little moved on set.For some reason, I was moved on set. . I want everyone to experience that. There's nothing I can do about it, but somewhere along the line I kind of admire him as a man...it's like saying I'm Spielberg's equal. Since he's a movie director, he should be on the same level in terms of category, but it's hard to say. Mac was doing that, so I wanted to convey to him that I wanted to be like this too, but I just couldn't get it across. I think the scene where he abuses the Kyoto University students leaves a really bad impression (lol), but in another scene, he also goes to the police...

This person is strong in both the strong and the weak, or rather, he is a giant god soldier (lol). I think people are usually weak in one or the other.

Image: Scene of giving a speech in front of Kyoto University (C) word & sentence

- I'm sorry to say this, but there were a lot of scenes where Mac messed up like that in the main movie, but there are times when Mac looks at the situation extremely calmly. I think there are parts that gradually make you think, ``Huh? Maybe that performance was planned?''

Mac : That's just a coincidence. The reason why I started dancing in the middle of the speech was because it would be rude to the other person if I got angry at the call to go home, so I just danced to the call to go home as my background music. That kind of instantaneous performance is genius, if I may say so myself (lol). Even if I tried to talk seriously in that situation, no one would listen and the place would become chaotic. In times like these, it is necessary to remain calm and make decisions.

- The expression on Mac's face as he gazed at the crowd in the Osaka Namba scene was also impressive, but how did he actually feel at that time?

Mac : It's a feeling of defeat. "I lost," he said.

Fujioka : Is that how you felt after all?

Mac : That's right. I tried my best to bite at the other person, but I couldn't stand it at all. It's a look of complete defeat. That's why I was drinking so much alcohol.

All: lol

Fujioka : But what I thought was really amazing at that time was that I was given time to give a speech in that environment, which I think a normal person would be satisfied with, but I felt a sense of defeat, and I stopped walking around Mr. Hashimoto's campaign car on the way. It started spinning around. Then he waits until the speech is over and then tries again (lol). I was really moved by that kind of "persistence."

Mac : We lost completely, but we're still comrades. I just wanted to say hello, but that wasn't allowed. Also, in Koichi Toyama's political opinion broadcast, he said, ``If I win, everyone will be scared!'' It's the same thing, I never thought he would give me the time to speak. Mr. Matsui (current Osaka Prefectural Governor) I said, ``Give me 5 minutes,'' but he gave me 10 more minutes (lol).

Fujioka : That is exactly what a “Kansai person” is (lol).

Image from left: A scene in Akihabara/Mr. Mac looks at the crowd with a sense of defeat in Namba, Osaka
(C)word＆sentence

Attack is interest/subsequent change

- You have successfully screened the film not only in Japan but also overseas, but have there been any changes not only in the reaction to the film but also in the reaction to yourself?

Mac : The number of Facebook friend requests from overseas has increased. I think it's because it was shown overseas. Also, recently, when I'm giving speeches on the street, I've been getting more and more people saying, ``I saw the movie ``Candidacy.'' Most of the time, the content is full of praise for my son (lol). However, I received a lot of positive feedback, such as, ``I thought you were an idiot, but you're actually thinking a lot,'' so I'm really grateful for that. At first, people wrote on the internet that Mac was a cockroach, and people spat on him and kicked him during his speeches. I also want to apologize to the female college students at Kyoto University! (Everyone: lol)

Fujioka : Mr. Kuriki, you also do a lot of things such as broadcasting while climbing and posting messages on the internet, but do you encounter any unpleasant experiences when you do that?

Kuriki : Well, since it's the internet world, I think there are a lot of good things and bad things, but when you're climbing a mountain, you're like, ``I'm going to die!'' (laughs)

Fujioka : I'm sure Mac has said a lot of things as well (lol).

Kuriki : I think it would be harsh if someone told me to die. But I don't really care about negative words like that. I don't really care, I just think it's an opportunity. The reason is that if you truly think, ``He's no good,'' I think you'll be indifferent. I'm no Mac either, but in 2007 I was able to stream a video of a climb up Cho Oyu, an 8000m mountain in Tibet, with Toshio Tsuchiya, a producer from Denpa Shonen. Yes. It took three weeks to climb the mountain, but the weather got bad near the top and we had to come back down.

I was almost there, but since you can't climb a mountain again if you don't survive, I decided to go down the mountain and when I came back, I found all kinds of terrible things written on the internet, like ``I couldn't climb Kuriki.'' . But when I tried again and succeeded in reaching the summit, the people who had written things like ``I can't climb Kuriki'' or ``I'm going to die'' now just wrote ``Thank you,'' and their opinions changed a little. At that time, I started to think that these people didn't really feel that way from the bottom of their hearts, but that they just happened to be feeling depressed and were heading towards Kuriki, and that they actually had some passionate feelings. .

- How was the movie? In particular, I think the election system overseas is different from Japan, and I'm curious about the reaction overseas, including the system where you can run for office with a deposit of 3 million yen.

Fujioka : What do you think? But I was laughing so hard. I get the strong impression that everyone is laughing and having fun, and I guess they see it as more of an entertainment than a political thing. Also, there are no shortage of potential candidates overseas. I've heard of people suddenly appearing in strange clothes, I've heard of them in Switzerland, I've heard of them in America, and they're everywhere. That's why I want to gather such people and hold an international conference (lol).

Kuriki : It will be amazing!

Fujioka : That's right. So it's not like this movie deals with unusual motifs.

(C)word＆sentence

- I have a question for director Fujioka, but I feel like there are parts of this movie that feel like a message from the production side, or a contrast between minorities and the majority, or a critique of the larger framework of society. It may be an exaggeration to call it offensive, but have you ever been conscious of a message like that?

Fujioka : Not at all. I started by saying, ``I'll just give it a try,'' so I thought about what my message would be after filming, and wondered if I could ultimately create an environment where everyone can run for office. . From there, we narrowed it down to promising candidates, and we wanted to make it appear that not only the producers but also the voters were leading the way.

Thoughts through the movie “Candidate”

- Lastly, could you please give a message to the people viewing your site?

Fujioka : I'm worried. I guess I want them to accept Mr. Mac after all. If the world accepts it, I think I will be able to stand up against the world when I start from scratch. I thought that if I rejected Mac, I would end up in a world where I would be criticized in the same situation when I started from scratch... I think that if the people who watched this movie could live in a world where they would at least warmly watch over people who run for something, they would be able to live true to themselves. Even if you don't belong to an organization or are alone. You won't understand anything unless you try it first, so I want you to watch over everything without denying it.

Mac : The greatness of this movie is partly due to the high level of skill on the part of the production side, such as the filming, editing, and direction with music, but I also think it lies in the catch. ``You haven't even lost yet.'' That's a great catch. Taking action is a difficult thing. Please take action, no matter how small. Knowing something and not doing it is the same as not knowing it. No matter how much knowledge you have, no matter how great your planning ability or idea is, it's just one action. Actions such as making phone calls and talking to people. This means that nothing will happen without action.

Kuriki : Actually, I'm not all that particular about mountain climbing. I want to increase the number of people who take up the simple challenge of mountain climbing.

``I had given up before, but now I've decided to try something like this.'' I really want to cherish those feelings... I think this is very similar to what Director Fujioka said earlier, but I think everyone has a variety of passions deep within their hearts, so I hope that those around them will support them without covering up their passions themselves. . Also, as I explained at the beginning, when I lost my fingers due to severe frostbite, this movie really saved me and made me think, ``Oh, after all, everyone is climbing different mountains.'' Anyway, it's a great movie and I want more people to see it.

- Thank you for your time today!

The movie “Candidacy” is currently being rented at video rental shops nationwide! If you haven't seen it yet, please check it out.