How Rocky and Raging Bull inspired Japanese film about a slacker
Filmmaker Masaharu Take explains how he drew inspiration from two Hollywood boxing films, and his own career struggles, for 100 Yen Love, the story of a woman who decides to make something of herself via boxing
In Japanese director Masaharu Take’s latest indie film, 100 Yen Love, Sakura Ando plays Ichiko, a reclusive slacker who finally moves out of her parents’ home at age 32 after a fight with her recently divorced sister.
While the pitch-black comedy of the story’s first half sees her take up a mundane job at a discount convenience store, meet an equally introverted love interest (played by Hirofumi Arai) and encounter a traumatic incident, its second half improbably morphs into a rousing sports drama in which the character rediscovers her purpose as an amateur boxer.
In a way, the critical reception for 100 Yen Love has been as uplifting as the story onscreen. Shin Adachi’s script for the film won a scriptwriting prize at the 2012 Shunan Film Festival, and the film has subsequently won a slew of domestic awards since it premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival in October 2014, where it snatched the best picture prize worth 1 million yen (HK$64,260).
“This is my best film so far,” says Take at an interview with the Post during the recent Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. “I’ve been working in the film industry for some 26 years, and this still feels like a new starting point for my career.”
It hasn’t always been such a rosy picture: Ichiko’s depressed state of mind in the film’s outset stems from her creators’ own, the director confirms. “About five years ago, the economy was bad in Japan and film companies were closing down. I had no projects to work on; there were several that fell through for budgetary or other reasons,” says Take.