Breakfast with And so we put goldfish in the pool

Interview with Makoto Nagahisa, director of And so we put goldfish in the pool

 Could you tell us a bit more about Sayama? Is it really a “highway to nowhere” or is the film more about teenage angst and less about the town itself?
Sayama is a small city, about three hours from Tokyo. Not being too far from Tokyo, I think it suffers from an inferiority complex towards cities. Also, a famous murder happened in Sayama a few years ago, which I think gives it a bad vibe. Sayama is also physically cut off, being surrounded by mountains and a river. The highway does in fact lead to Tokyo. However, for these young girls who can only travel by bicycle, it does feel like a highway to nowhere (because of their own powerlessness). My story ties together the sentiment of being closed off from the city, together with the uncertainty of teenage years. The theme of the film is the girls’ desire to break away from the city itself, as well as from their limited futures.

 Could you tell us what the act of throwing the fish into the pool meant for these girls?
In my story, goldfish are symbolic of being stuck in a tank, unable to go anywhere. The girls see the goldfish as themselves. By saving these goldfish and releasing them into a larger space, I think the girls tried to break away from their own feeling of captivity. Subconsciously. However, they didn’t even consider that a pool is just a larger space, which is also closed off. On a side note, I also tried to express this sense of being closed off through the rectangular shape of the pool, the TV and the lasagna dish.

 Is there an autobiographical element to the film?
I grew up in Tokyo so I don’t have the same perception of small cities. However, I do understand the feeling that your future is limited beyond a certain point. I find this is a common worry for lots of young people, and I tried to throw it into this film. In fact, I am just an office worker, spending each boring day without much to do; perhaps some of that emotion did seep through. However, this case of four girls throwing goldfish in a pool did actually take place, in 2012 in Sayama. The emotional story made headlines across the country. This is a film adaptation of those events.

 What are your cinematic influences?
Juzo Itami, Nagisa Oshima, Hasegawa Kazuhiro, Hideaki Anno, Michael Haneke, Richard Linklater, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Gondry.

 Any cinematic coups de cœur in the past year you’d like to tell us about?
Maybe just Shin Godzilla.

 If you’ve already been to Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival. If not, what are your expectations for this year?
It’s my first time at Clermont-Ferrand. I’m looking forward to observing my rivals around the world. I’m also excited about meeting new people from the film industry.

 Are any other releases scheduled?
I haven’t got any releases planned. I’m planning to shoot Momo, the classic children’s tale in Tokyo before the Olympics.

And so we put goldfish in the pool is being shown in International Competition I4.