A rainy night on Waseda Street

「 A rainy night on Waseda Street / 雨の早稲田通り 」

プロデューサーであり友人でもあるクリスからの誘いで、今回actor役でこのプロジェクトに参加させてもらう事になりました。 Tokyo Cowboys のプロジェクトはクリスから聞いていて、「いつか俺も混ぜてよ」と軽口を叩いていたところ本当にクリスが誘ってくれました。 夜中に早稲田通りで電話を受け、クリスから初めて内容を聞かされた時は「俺に出来るのかなぁ」と言う思いが一番でした。 今回のプロジェクトで扱うテーマは「同性愛」。 僕の友人・知人にも同性愛者は当然いるし、尊重されるべきです。 何の問題もない。僕自身は所謂ノンケの人間ですがゲイやレズビアンに対して何の偏見も持っていません。 でも実際に自分がゲイを演じるとなると、全く想像がつきませんでした。 正直なところ、同性愛者を取り巻く現状や問題は僕にはよく分かりません。 皆がハッピーならそれが一番いいし、その方法を探し続けるしかない。 僕に出来る事は、役者として、表現者の一人として、やるからには良い映画を作りたい。 ただそれだけでした。 良い映画の定義については喧々諤々と答えの出ない無限スパイラルに吸い込まれるので止めておきますが、僕自身が思うのはやはり執念を感じるか、と言う点。 どうしても伝えたい。表現したい。これをやらないと我慢出来ない、生きていけない。 そんな執念が作品に魂を宿らせるんじゃないかと、僕はそう思うのです。 今回の映画はクリスの実体験を元にしている話です。 クリスにその意識があるかどうかは分からないけど、自分の実体験を映画にする行為はリスクを伴います。 リアリティを追求できる一方、プライバシーを晒す事になる。いわば人生の切り売り。 直接本人に聞いた事は無いけど、なんとなく腹をくくる瞬間があったんじゃないかと想像してしまうわけです。 雨の早稲田通り。電話からはいつも通り愉快なクリスの声。勘違いかもしれない。考えすぎかもしれない。 僕は電話口の向こうからクリスの執念が少しだけ顔を出した気がしました。 「オーノと一緒にやったらいい作品になると思う」 そう言ってくれたクリスの言葉に、僕は身を委ねる事にしました。 撮影を終えた今、このプロジェクトに参加できた事を嬉しく思っています。 そしてこの映画を見た人の心に何かが残ればいいなと、そう思っています。 大野ミツル 俳優

Thanks to my friend and Tokyo Cowboys producer Chris, I am participating as an actor in Tokyo Cowboys Current project "The Actor and the Model." I had heard about Tokyo Cowboys before from Chris. He said many times that he wanted me to work with them someday, but I didn't think that day would actually come. Late one night, I was walking along Waseda Street in Tokyo when he called me. When he explained to me what the film he wanted me to be in was about, my first thought was: Can I actually do this? The theme of this project is alternative lifestyles, and a gay romance. I have plenty of GLBT friends and co-workers. I don't have any idea why people would have problems with GLBT and this kind of lifestyle. So what was my hesitation for? I'm straight. I had no ideas about the problems the GLBT community faces, and I wasn't sure that I would properly be able to portray a conflicted gay man in a film. I feel like we all should be free to be happy and enjoy our lives as we see fit. That was my starting point for understanding this character. To have that taken away from you... As an actor, it's our job to become other people and to show people stories they might not be able to ordinarily see. We must do this to the best of our ability. That is the job of an actor. To understand and show. I'm not sure exactly what exactly makes for a great film, but I did my best during the filming of this short to create, to show, and to express the emotional pain that my character was going through. I believe that we created something passionate, moving, and worth watching. This story is actually a true story. It's a story that happened to Chris. I don't know if he is aware of it or not, but there is always a risk in holding a mirror to society and revealing the truth to everyone. In revealing the truth we have to reveal ourselves as well. I didn't ask him directly, but I could tell that this story meant something to him. If he was willing to put himself at risk to tell this story then I was going to tell it with him. It was raining on Waseda Street when the call came from Chris. At first I thought it was just his normal cheerful voice. Looking back, and I might be reading too deep into it, there was something different about the way he spoke to me. I could hear determination in Chris' voice. "I think that if you join us in making this, it really could be something special." Since he put it like that, there really was no choice but to give in to him and participate in this film. As of writing this blog, we have officially finished filming on this project. I'm very happy that I was invited to be a part of it. I hope that a piece of this film lingers on with you in your heart after you watch it. Mitsuru Ono Actor