Kiyoshi Kurosawa highlights 'B-movie' appeal

Kiyoshi Kurosawa, cinema's "master of horror" and recipient of the Busan International Film Festival's Filmmaker of the Year Award, said on Thursday he'd like to see more Japanese artists explore genre cinema.

Celebrated Asian filmmakers including South Korea's Bong Joon-ho, the Oscar-winning director of Parasite, admire 69-year-old Kurosawa, whose works are renowned for their keen observations and psychological depth.

Kurosawa received the BIFF Filmmaker of the Year award on Wednesday, joining previous winners such as renowned Hong Kong actors Tony Leung and Chow Yun Fat. Genre-bending director Bong said in a video message he was a "long-time, diehard fan" of Kurosawa and recited a long list of films he has admired for years.

Film experts say Bong's work, particularly his 2003 crime thriller Memories of Murder, has been heavily influenced by Kurosawa.

Jason Bechervaise, a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul, cited Kurosawa's 1997 horror movie Cure for "its extraordinary atmospherics and intensity". "It shaped how Bong approached tackling the gruesome crimes... and its blend of genres," he told AFP.

Kurosawa is showcasing two new films, which he described as "genre B-movies", at BIFF: the violent thriller Cloud and Serpent's Path, a French-language remake of his 1998 crime drama of the same name.

"There aren't many directors in Japan who create genre films like I do," Kurosawa told reporters on Thursday. "It is regrettable as it's difficult to see such young directors in Japan."

Kurosawa said of Bong: "He has become so famous and a global master that it feels like he is up in the clouds, an untouchable figure." He quipped about watching Bong's video message: "I thought, '(Bong) still considers me a friend'."

BIFF's chief programmer Nam Dong-chul said Kurosawa was "the director who most innovatively creates suspense in films".

"Even through a simple conversation between two characters, he generates incredibly chilling moments and deeply frightening instances, evoking a sense that something terrifying is about to unfold," Nam told AFP. AFP