Kiyoshi

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Lore & Background

Born in Kobe on July 19, 1955, Kiyoshi Kurosawa started making films about his life in high school. He studied at Rikkyo University under prominent film critic Shigehiko Hasumi, where he began making 8mm films. Though they share a surname, he is not related to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. He began directing commercially in the 1980s, working on pink films and low-budget V-Cinema productions like formula yakuza films. In 1981, his 8mm film Shigarami Gakuen was nominated for the Oshima Prize at the PFF (Pia Film Festival). After working with Shinji Soumai in 1983, he released his first feature film Kandagawa Pervert Wars (1983). He became popular after The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl (1985) and The Guard from Underground (1992). In the early 1990s, he won a Sundance Institute scholarship by submitting his original screenplay Charisma, allowing him to study filmmaking in the US despite having directed professionally for nearly ten years. He first achieved international acclaim with his 1997 crime thriller Cure. A year later, he completed two thrillers back-to-back, Serpent's Path and Eyes of the Spider, both sharing the same premise (a father taking revenge for his child's murder) and lead actor (Show Aikawa) but spinning entirely different stories. In March 1999, the Hong Kong International Film Festival presented his first retrospective, a five-title program including The Excitement of the Do-re-mi fa Girls, The Guard from Underground, Serpent's Path, Eyes of the Spider, and License to Live.

In Their Own Story

Kurosawa followed Cure with a semi-sequel in 1999: Charisma, a detective film starring Kōji Yakusho. In 2000, Seance, his adaptation of Mark McShane's novel Seance on a Wet Afternoon, premiered on Kansai TV, again starring Yakusho and Jun Fubuki. In 2001, he directed the horror film Pulse. He released Bright Future (starring Tadanobu Asano, Joe Odagiri, and Tatsuya Fuji) in 2003, followed by another digital feature, Doppelganger, later that year—both nominated for the Cannes Film Festivals. In 2005, he returned with Loft, his first love story since Seance, then Retribution (2006). With 2008's Tokyo Sonata, he stepped 'out of his usual horror genre and into family drama.' He wrote a novelization of Pulse and a history of horror cinema with Makoto Shinozaki. In September 2012, he was announced to direct 1905, starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Shota Matsuda, and Atsuko Maeda, but production was cancelled in February 2013 before filming started. He directed the 2012 five-part TV drama Penance. His feature Real (starring Takeru Sato and Haruka Ayase) released in 2013. He won Best Director at the 8th Rome Film Festival for Seventh Code later that year. His 2015 film Journey to the Shore screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where he won Best Director. In 2016, his thriller Creepy premiered at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, marking his first cinematic return to horror since 2006. His 2017 film Before We Vanish screened in Un Certain Regard at Cannes. His 2019 film To the Ends of the Earth closed the Piazza Grande program at the 72nd Locarno Film Festival. In 2020, he won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 77th Venice International Film Festival for Wife of a Spy. He directed three films in 2024: the short Chime, a French-language remake of Serpent's Path, and the thriller Cloud, the latter nominated for Best Film at that year's Sitges Film Festival. His first jidaigeki (period drama) The Samurai and the Prisoner is scheduled to premiere in June 2026.

Reader's Guide

Kurosawa's filmmaking style has been compared to Stanley Kubrick and Andrei Tarkovsky, though he has never expressly listed them as influences. He claimed Alfred Hitchcock and Yasujirō Ozu shaped his personal vision of the medium. He has expressed admiration for American directors Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Robert Aldrich, Richard Fleischer, and Tobe Hooper. In a 2000 Time interview, he noted his appreciation for John Cassavetes, saying, 'When I watch a Cassavetes film, I am awed by the understanding that people can subtly change in the course of a simple conversation.' Through mentor Shigehiko Hasumi, he was also influenced by Jean-Luc Godard. In a 2009 IFC interview, he explained why he casts Kōji Yakusho often: 'He has similar values and sensitivities. We're from the same generation. That's a big reason why I enjoy working with him on the set.' According to Tim Palmer, Kurosawa's films occupy a position between mass genre materials and esoteric or intellectual abstraction, engaging with environmental critique through decaying open spaces, abandoned buildings, and places rife with toxins and entropy. In an interview with Tokyo Art University, Kurosawa said he doesn't want his directorial style too fixed, admires versatility (citing Clint Eastwood), and doesn't box himself into one style or theme. Asked what he wants to try next, he answered: 'The next thing I want to do is something I have never done.' He credits Hasumi Shigehiko as a mentor and early influence, teaching him that film is worth dedicating your entire life to, and states one of his goals is to share Hasumi's teachings. In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, he signed an open letter in Libération demanding a ceasefire and end to killing civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian corridor, and release of hostages.

Did You Know?

• Kiyoshi Kurosawa is not related to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, despite sharing the same surname.
• He won a scholarship to the Sundance Institute in the early 1990s by submitting his original screenplay Charisma.
• His 1998 films Serpent's Path and Eyes of the Spider share the same premise (a father taking revenge for his child's murder) and lead actor (Show Aikawa) but tell entirely different stories.
• He won the Silver Lion for Best Direction at the 77th Venice International Film Festival in 2020 for Wife of a Spy.
• His first jidaigeki (period drama) The Samurai and the Prisoner is scheduled to premiere in June 2026.