The very first public screening of the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival on October 28 was also a first in several other aspects. Or Utopia, world premiering in the Nippon Cinema Now section, is the first feature by writer-director Kim Yunsoo, who was the recipient of the first Amazon Prime Video Take One Award, given out at the 2021 edition of TIFF.
 
During the post-screening stage appearance and Q&A session, TIFF Programming Director Ichiyama Shozo explained that the Take One Award’s objective is “to provide an opportunity for a new director to make a feature film” and that Kim “developed Or Utopia along with Amazon Studios.”
 
Veteran director Yukisada Isao, the head of the jury for the 2021 Take One Award, was on hand to congratulate Kim for his film. “Sometimes these films don’t get completed,” he said in a joking manner, “so I’m truly happy he finished it. For him to make his first commercial film an ensemble piece is quite impressive, and I think he did a fabulous job. Eventually, this movie will go to a streaming platform, but it’s very film-like, with lots of compelling long takes. Ensemble films can be difficult in the end, but he pulled it off. I think he’ll be a representative director for his generation.”
 
Also present at the session was Watanabe Makiko, who not only acts in the movie, but was on the jury that selected Kim in 2021. “I didn’t know it would come to this,” she said, “but as a member of the jury that chose him, I’m extremely happy for him. I just feel humble to have been selected for the cast.”
 
Ichiyama, however, was itching to find out how Kim came up with such a “very strange Idea” for his film, which takes place in a tourist hotel in an unnamed city that has been evacuated due to an invasion by giant insect-like monsters. However, a dozen guests have decided to stay put for various reasons, and as the story develops over a two-year period, we learn those reasons and why the hotel, which turns into a kind of prison, may also be a “utopia,” per the title—or, at least, a utopia for these individuals.
 
“I don’t remember the genesis of the story,” Kim said. “But I was in Sapporo for another job and confined to a room in an apartment.” When asked why he was “confined,” Kim answered, “Well, I hate insects, so that’s probably the reason.”
 
The audience never sees the monsters in Or Utopia, but they can be heard moving outside, which is why Kim insisted that the sound design be perfect.
 
Actor Fujiwara Kisetsu, who plays a wannabe novelist in the film with a serious inferiority complex, said that when he first read the script, “I thought there would be more chaos and confusion, and in a sense there is, but all the different difficulties [of the characters] were brought to a conclusion.” Watanabe, who plays an aging film star, added that the “apocalyptic” theme at first made her anxious, but that in the end she felt it had a strong message.
 
Yukisada added that such a strong message was realized because of Kim’s careful planning. Amazingly, principal photography took only 3 weeks despite the large cast and episodic story structure.
 
“When I went on the stage three years ago to accept the Take One Award,” Kim said, “I made a point of saying I would be back here at TIFF with a feature film, and I realized that prediction today. I can’t say if the past three years were long or short, but I’m stating today that I’ll be back.”
 
Q&A Session:Nippon Cinema Now
Or Utopia
Guests: Kim Yunsoo (Director), Fujiwara Kisetsu (Actor)