Inspirations

About a year and a half ago, when the screenplay for Layover, on the Shore wasn't much more than a page of notes on the back of my journal, I watched a film by Japanese filmmaker Nobuhiro Suwa called H Story—and it changed everything.

H Story is a film about Hiroshima, Suwa's home. Suwa plays himself, a director, who is making a film about Hiroshima by making a shot-by-shot remake of Alain Renais’ classic Hiroshima Mon Amour.



Quickly though, his remake begins to fall apart.

Suwa and his actress, Beatrice Dalle, engage in constant arguments, as Dalle becomes more and more detached and disinterested in the failing production.

Then one morning, in a rage, Dalle walks off set.

Outside, she calms herself down by sharing a cigarette with an on-set Japanese writer. The moment seems inconsequential, but soon we find ourselves watching a blossoming romance between this French actress and this Japanese writer, as they wander the streets of Hiroshima together. By the end of H Story, Suwa’s failed remake is recuperated as a romance in contemporary Hiroshima and ends up being, strangely enough, a successful remake of the original.

It blew my mind. It was one of the most inspiring films I'd seen in a long time, and one of the best cases I’d ever seen of a filmmaker trying to negotiate the idea of his home with the reality of his home.

H Story asked, How does one make a film about a place, when the idea of the place overshadows the reality of the place?

Suwa’s answer was to show how he cannot make a film about the idea of his home, and yet cannot escape making a film about the idea of his home.

Everyone should try to check out this wonderful movie.

Chris