Ichii Masahide and Sanae Konno

You started your career as a comedian, and your other film, Hayabusa (Dog Days Dream), is a comedy. Mubobi on the other hand is a drama. Do you intend to keep this versatility?

Ichii: I don’t actually like to draw a distinction between comedy and drama. So in both cases what really counted for me was the fact that I was constructing portraits of people. That’s what I’ll keep on doing, sometimes with a little humour.

Mubobi talks very deeply about feminine and maternal feelings. How was it to write this script?

Ichii: The starting point of this film was the fact that my wife was pregnant, and I really wanted to film the moment of the birth. I don’t think there are that many differences between men and women. But, in the light of the experience I had, I have do admit that there are some issues of sensitivity that women deal with differently. So the collaboration of my wife was essential.

The story of the other character, the woman who had the miscarriage, was also inspired by real facts?

Ichii: During the process it also had the influence of other women around me who had lived the painful experience of miscarriage. I thought to contribute and give them some relief. I knew that I couldn’t do that much, but I could show how they could overcome this pain. And I intended to do a film which women who had a miscarriage would accept. Another reason why I chose this element was the fact that miscarriage represents the opposite of pregnancy.

How did you film the birth scene? Was it real?

Ichii: It was really my wife giving birth.

(To Sanae) How was it for you to share your personal experience in the movie?

Sanae: I’m the director’s wife, I was the one who understood him, and so I also cared a lot about the movie. As for the birth scene, it was made to give the idea of the change that the other woman had been through. It also shows the pain and the strength involved in giving birth. And it conveys the importance of life itself. In the world at this moment, especially in Japan, the value of life has been underestimated, through phenomena like homicides and suicides. The film could also make you think about your own birth, and your family.

Martha Lopes