In this film, real tanks and combat helicopters are used for the shooting. Didn’t you think of making those pictures with CG? In recent years, there’s a growing number of full CG films in Hollywood. What do you think about it?

I didn’t think of doing it. CGs ring true only with real objects. Therefore, I’m not interested in full CG works, nor I don’t find any merits in them as a film.

What is described in this film is people who live their lives playing a game, and in the previous film ‘Ghost in the Shell’, it detailed a secret corps of the government. Your other works have a theme that gives us a feeling of something underground. Is it your favorite theme?

I think I don’t have any motives to describe people who only live their everyday lives. I don’t think film is a suitable media to describe everyday lives.

I found that reality / unreality is very subjective in this film. Do you have any intentions about it? Also, does the dog in the film have a role as a bridge between reality and unreality (or reality in the parallel world)?

I don’t think it’s a real existence that we can tell objectively, rather than subjectively. I don’t want to say anything about the dog. It must be left to your imagination.

Why did you use an orchestra for the whole soundtrack?

Because I’d never used orchestras when I worked with Mr. Kawai. I just wanted to try it once.

Do you think the future described in ‘Ghost in the Shell’ or ‘Avalon’ will be in our real future?

There’s no relationship between the future described in the film and the real future. If anything, I think I described the present day.

Do you have any plans for the future? Do you think you’ll continue this approach that combines real picture and CG?

I think I’ll direct an animated project next, though I can’t announce it officially yet. It doesn’t mean an animation based on a real picture. But I want to try the approach of ‘Avalon’ again.

AVALON
2001 / Japan / 106 min / DOLBY Digital Surround EX, DTS-ES / Vista size / 35 mm
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Screenplay: Kazunori Itoh
Music: Kenji Kawai
Produce: Deiz
Distribute: Nippon Herald Films Inc.
Presented by Bandai Visual Co.,Ltd, Media Factory Inc., Dentsu Inc., Nippon Herald Films Inc.
http://www.avalon-net.com