First-day-screening event of new movie "Umibe no sei to shi"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Umibe no sei to shi" was held at Theatre Shinjuku on 29 July which was attended by the director Koshikawa Michio and cast members Mitsushima Hikari, Nagayama Kento, Inowaki Kai, Kawase Yota and Tsukayama Masane. The film is based on the book "Shima no Hate" by the late Shimao Toshio who was a navy lieutenant sent to Kagoshima's Kakeromajima towards the end of WWII and later became a writer after the war ended as well as his wife Miho's book "Umibe no sei to shi". The movie uses the Shimaos as a model to describe how Toe (Mitsushima) falls for a man named Saku (Nagayama) in the last days of the war. Toe is a teacher at a national school who meets Saku who is newly posted to the island and becomes drawn to him when she sees him learning how to sing the island's songs while being slightly intoxicated. However, when the couple finally get together, Toe is torn by her love for Saku who is awaiting orders to go out to battle.

Mitsushima who appeared at the event in a kimono, said that she was filled with happiness and sadness at the same time since the release of a movie also marked the day when they get separated from it. Reflecting on the screenings they held at Amami Oshima and Kakeromajima where they filmed the movie, Mitsushima said that she was happy to reunite with the child actors who participated in the filming and see how much they had grown since their last meeting. When asked to describe the movie, she said that the movie had a very strong feminine feel with Toe being a woman who stands by her love despite the challenges imposed by society and the war set against the beautiful scenery on the islands looking like a cute girl. Nagayama commented that he found the stay on the islands very comfortable as he got used to life there and it had been a very valuable experience to be able to participate in this movie. Tsukayama then said that he has been an actor for more than 50 years since he left Okinawa and praised Mitsushima for being a naturally-born actor just like Nishida Toshiyuki with her aura and the strength of her gaze.

Asazaki Ikue who coached Mitsushima on how to sing the island's songs, made a surprise appearance at the event and presented flowers to the latter. Asazaki also performed a song live which led Mitsushima to say that she still continues to sing the island songs to this day especially when she's feeling tired and needs to relax.

Sources: Eiga.com / Oricon