この映画「アリア」は、妻を亡くしたピアノ調律師の男が、誰かの想いに導かれるように、あるピアノの行方を追い求める姿を、北日本の美しい風景を舞台に描いた作品。
大切な何かを失くしてしまった人々の心の彷徨を、静かに優しく辿る新感覚のロードムービーです。
出演は、ピアノ調律師太田に、日本の演劇界を代表する俳優｛塩野谷正幸｝、老人形使いに｛小松政夫｝、その自称娘に、女優としての活躍が注目されているモデルの｛高橋マリ子｝、その他、吉田日出子、常田富士男、ミッキーカーチス、正司歌江、映画監督の｛若松孝二｝や人形作家としても有名な｛四谷シモン｝など、日本のアートシーンを代表する多彩な顔ぶれが出演している。
監督は脚本と音楽も手がける坪川拓史。9年をかけて完成させた前作の自主制作映画「美式天然」で、2005年トリノ国際映画祭のグランプリと観客賞を受賞し、世界中から注目を集める。「美式天然」は、各国の映画祭で高い評価を受けた。
この「アリア」は、新作を期待されている中での長編２作目となる作品。
Aria is the story of a piano tuner and his quest of a beach, where lies the memory of his deceased wife, together with a piano he was asked to look for by an old puppetteer.
The film depicts a man touched and moved by the “sound of memory” he is given by the people he meets during his journey, and the most beautiful Japanese landscapes.
The film features some of the most interesting artists of today’s Japan: Shionoya Masayuki, one of the most active Japanese actors, as the piano tuner Ōta, Komatsu Masao as the old puppetteer, the famous model turned actress Takahashi Mariko as his would-be daughter, Yoshida Hideko, Tokita Fujio, Michey Curtis, Shōji Utae, the film director Wakamatsu Kōji and the famous doll master Yotsuya Simon among the others.
The director Tsubokawa Takushi also wrote the screenplay and composed the soundtrack. His first feature film, the independent Utsukushiki Tennen – Nuages d’Hier, won both the Grand Prix and the Audience Award at the 2005 Torino International Film Festival, and was later shown in many film festivals around the world, winning the praise of critics and audiences.
Aria is his long awaited second feature film.
In the world of Japanese cinema, where too often quality is laid down to chase the audience, a new and high quality film is born.