Koreeda Hirokazu

KARE NO INAI HACHIGATSU GA

AUGUST WITHOUT HIM
Koreeda Hirokazu
J 1994
78 min
V'04

The subject of August without Him is a man dying with AIDS. Hirata Yutaka was the first man in Japan to declare in public that he had contracted HIV through gay sex. He was already intermittently ill when Koreeda met him in 1992, but he and his two regular care-givers agreed to meet Koreeda on an ongoing basis. The initial surprise for the filmmakers was that Hirata refused to behave like a dying man; he was determined to make his remaining time the best in his life. As he declined, though, he relied more and more on those around him including the camera crew, who became increasingly involved. The film is inevitably framed as a lament for Hirata, but its never more poignant than when Koreeda admits that its impossible for him to remain an objective observer. (Tony Rayns)

I made August without Him after Hirata had passed away, so I made it while calling him to mind, exploring my own memory. Originally, hed wanted me to keep filming him until he died, but it was emotionally draining to simply film the process of him getting weaker. Once we started shooting I realized that the relationship between Hirata and myself changed subtly and it would take one or two years to show that. So I wanted to show in the film something of the changing relationship caused by the long period of filmmaking. (Koreeda Hirokazu)

Credits
  • Hirata Yutaka
  • Koreeda Hirokazu
  • Abiko Ryutaro
  • Mitsuishi Yoichi
  • Ito Shunji
  • Endo Yutaka
  • Takeuchi Katsumi
  • Okumura Keiichi
  • Nakamura Yukihiro
  • Nick Olcott
TV Man Union Inc. 30-13 Motoyoyogi-cho, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0062, Japan T 3 5478 8138 F 3 5478 8141 nishikawa@tvu.co.jp

TV Man Union Inc. 30-13 Motoyoyogi-cho, Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0062, Japan T 3 5478 8138 F 3 5478 8141 nishikawa@tvu.co.jp

Video (Betacam SP)
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