Ayase Haruka has been a Japanese superstar for almost two decades, yet her stage appearance with director Morii Yusuke and co-star Osawa Kana before the world premiere screening of Route29 at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival marked just her second experience at TIFF — and the first had been on October 28, walking the Opening Night Red Carpet.
 
From popular TV shows like Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004) to critically acclaimed films such as Our Little Sister (2015), Ayase has portrayed a variety of women on both big and small screens, and become one of the most recognizable talents in the Japanese entertainment industry. However, when she was asked on November 1 about walking the red carpet, she said, “Of course I was nervous. The mass media and the audience were very close. And there was so much excitement. It truly made me feel, ‘Oh, this is really a film festival.’”
 
Screened as part of the Gala Selection, Route29 is the sophomore feature of filmmaker Morii. This follow-up to his critically acclaimed Amiko (2022) recounts the road trip of the mysterious Noriko (Ayase) and the eccentric teenager Haru (Osawa) along Route 29, a national highway that connects Himeji and Tottori. Reminiscent of the works of Aki Kaurismäki, it is an offbeat comedy with a heart, which captures the unlikely human connection between the two social outcasts, inserting something invigorating and fantastical into an otherwise cruel and deadpan world.
 
Inspired by Nakao Taichi’s poem, Morii quickly started the production of Route29 after the success of Amiko. According to the director, “I was talking with a producer about what we are going to do next. This is when I received the poem by Nakao-san. After reading it, by instinct I thought ‘I can make this into a film.’”
 
On adapting the poem into screen, Morii faced some challenges. “It is a road trip of these two characters, Noriko and Haru. I wanted to make sure there was a good balance that each of them portrayed equally,” said the filmmaker.
 
For both Ayase and Osawa, filmmaking on the actual Route 29 was a memorable experience. Ayase remembered, “We filmed in order of the script. As Noriko became close to Haru, I also became very close to Kana. The characters and our friendship more or less overlapped. There were a lot of forests in the area. A lot of frogs and insects as well. We caught them together and that was fun.”
 
Osawa added, “I was very much impressed because, even if there’s no dialogue, you can see Noriko’s emotions just by watching her eyes. That was something that I thought I would like to be able to copy.”
 
Ayase was also impressed by Osawa’s presence as an actor: “We didn’t actually discuss anything about acting. But when I first saw her face to face, I was drawn into her character.”
 
Listening to their conversation, Morii said, “Come to think about it, both of them are very similar. They are very genuine. One of a kind. They don’t belong to any kind of characteristic cluster. I think it worked out well.”
 
At the end of the stage appearance, Morii delivered a parting message to the audience: “In this film, there are a lot of strange things that happen. I’m hoping that you will have a gentle heart and embrace its strangeness.”
 
Greetings from the Stage: Gala Selection
Route29
Guests: Morii Yusuke (Director), Ayase Haruka (Actor), Osawa Kana (Actor)