幸せな家族を襲う突然の悲劇。買い物に出た兄妹が事故にあい、兄は生き残るが、妹は死んでしまう。4月26日公開の映画『あの空をおぼえてる』で、娘の死を乗り越え、バラバラになった家族を再生するという難しい役柄を女優の水野美紀さんが好演している。役作りや映画への思いを聞いた。
By Noriko Nakamura, Asahi Weekly
At the beginning of the film “Ａno Sora o Oboe-teru”―an adaptation of the Janet Lee Carey novel “Ｗenny Has Wings”―the Fukazawas, a family of four, are living a perfect and happy life in a beautiful pastoral landscape.
But one accident changes their lives completely. The family’s 6-year-old daughter, Erina, is killed in a car accident, and her older brother, Eiji, is seriously injured but survives.
Actress Miki Mizuno, who stars as the mother, Keiko Fukazawa, recalls her first impression in considering the part as, “Ｉt would be a very difficult role.”
Keiko must play a key role in reuniting her broken family and helping it overcome the tragedy. In real life, Mizuno is single and due to her busy acting schedule, has little involvement with children. So, playing a mother was challenging to her, she said.
“Ｗhat’s being a mother like?” “How does it feel like losing a child?” A lot of questions came to mind, she admitted. How did she prepare for the role?
“Watching an actual parent and child,”the 33-year-old actress replied. She added that she also thought deeply of how the love for a child differs from the one for oneself, parents, brothers, friends or a pet. The answer?
“Mothers have to scold (their children). What is important then is it has to be done with affection,” Mizuno said. “Children are so sensitive over what is told by their parents.”
Motherhood is not something an actor can just put on like a costume or makeup, but Mizuno becomes a “real mother” in every aspect in “Ano Sora o Oboeteru.”
Shooting of the film was done in Gifu Prefecture, where the location fit a nature-oriented setting. An American-style house where the family lives, and a treehouse that the children played in, were perfectly created, Mizuno said. As soon as she stepped onto the set, she said, she could get a natural feel for the family that lived there.
「母親は子供に育てられる」
Mizuno also created her role through communication. She spent a lot of time with Yutaka Takenouchi, her co-star who plays her husband, Masahito, for discussions on various issues such as “being a family”or the “Tragic accident.” They never disagreed on any subject, she added.
These two actors also placed great importance on communicating with the child actors who played Erina and Eiji.
“Those two children are so alive and full of energy. Certain feelings welled up in me just looking at them,” Mizuno said. “My mother used to say that mothers are brought up by their children. I didn’t understand it at that time, but now, I feel I got the sense.”
When Mizuno saw the preview of the film, she said she got very much into it, forgetting about watching herself as an actress.
“I usually see previews very objectively by checking my acting. It was the first time I cried when I saw the first preview,” Mizuno said. “I could find hope at the end of the film, which gave me a warm feeling. The film is one that encourages people to take a positive step forward.”
- adaptation of 〜を脚色したもの
- pastoral landscape 田園風景
- stars as 〜として主演する
- play...role 重要な役割を担う
- nature-oriented setting 自然が重要な役割を果たす舞台背景
- co-star 共演者
- welled up こみあげた
- preview 試写
- got...into 〜にのめりこんだ
- positive...forward 前向きな一歩
