魔女のおばあちゃんが大活躍！

By Noriko Nakamura, Asahi Weekly

　梨木香歩の同名小説を映画化した『西の魔女が死んだ』では、不登校になった少女が、イギリス人の祖母の元での「魔女修行」を通して「生きる力」を取り戻していく様子が描かれている。やさしく包み込むような「おばあちゃん」を演じたサチ・パーカーさんに話を聞いた。

　Returning to the land she lived in during her infancy, American actress Sachi Parker smiled.

　"It's my home," the 51-year-old actress said.

　Parker, the daughter of Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine, said she is also happy to star in the Japanese film "The Witch of the West is Dead," which opens on June 21 in Japan.

　Parker plays a grandmother in the film, but the woman who showed up for a recent interview in Tokyo was much more expressive and younger than her on-screen character.

　"This is a wonderful challenge because she is much older, and I have to study how she walks, talks, sits, moves, everything," Parker said of the role. "Also, her experience in life. I gave her a complete history. I made that up."

　In the film, junior high school student Mai (Mayu Takahashi) stops going to school. So, her mother decides to send Mai to spend some time with her British grandmother - nicknamed "the Witch of the West" - who lives in the countryside. Spending time with her favorite grandmother revitalizes Mai's "power of living."

　"I think Oba-chan had a wonderful way of allowing Mai to be who she is. She didn't try to control her - she just guided her very gently and helped her to listen to her own voice, her own heart, and that's all we have," Parker said.

　Parker also mentioned that the "power of nature" lends an indispensable helping hand to Mai. Growing herbs or making jam with the fresh strawberries that she picked herself ... through those experiences, Mai starts appreciating even minor changes in her daily life.

　"There is no good or bad, there is no judgment, there is no expectation. It's what it is. And it reminds me to try to live my life that way," said Parker, a self-proclaimed "green lover."

　Parker describes Mai's age - 12 or 13 years old - as a very difficult time, and encourages people who are struggling in life like Mai to find someone older who can give them advice. If not, they should spend time in nature "to find a way to listen to your own voice and passion."

　"Don't be so concerned with what people think of you all the time. Try to follow your heart," Parker said.