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In “PROMISE”, China’s internationally-recognized film maestro Chen Kaige‘s latest movie, Sanada Hiroyuki plays the role of Guanming, the only hero that has been granted the privilege of donning the legendary crimson armor.
“It was my first ever experience with the Mandarin language … it was an extraordinarily tortuous experience for me (laughs). I was told from the very beginning that my lines may be dubbed depending on the outcome. But I couldn’t bear the thought of another person’s voice being used over my own performance so I continued with my language lessons in earnest.”
“During the dubbing session, they told me that they would not let me leave until I sounded just like a native speaker. I replied, “Bring it on!” and what was originally scheduled to be a 3-day session turned into a 3-week battle (laughs)!”
The principal filming was conducted over a 6-month period and various sites throughout China.
“We really went all over China. In Inner Mongolia, we lived in tents. When I wanted to have things sent to me from Japan, there was no address to provide. We only had lamb and vegetables to prepare our meals, and despite using every available trick in the book, we ended up eating the same thing every 3 days. I tend to be a ‘survivor’ type, but this was a completely unprecedented experience for me. And the toilets (laughs)! I just assumed that there would be specially-installed toilets even in the most remote locations, but there were places where nothing was available. I was wondering what everybody was going to do about this when I saw people disappearing into the bushes (laughs).”
The visuals captured by the filming under extraordinary circumstances can be described in one word – masterpiece. The film is a continuation of soaring, illusionary images that are captured on a magnificent scale.
“We went to a place called Shangri-la, about 3900 meters above sea level, to specifically film the flowers that were blooming, running on a horse right along the precipice of a Grand Canyon-like cliff with 800 extras standing by – when you’re looking with a naked eye, you have to remind yourself that you’re not looking at computer-generated images (laughs). A lot of time and labor were spent to film images that could stand alone as is, despite the fact that CG would be added later. On those terms, we ended up with a lot of extravagant shots – it was very exciting!”
Sanada Hiroyuki turned 45 on October 12, 2005. Rather than being confined domestically, his workplace is expanding internationally.
“I want to maintain my basic stance where I am ready to fly out to China, India or any place my presence is requested, but I also place valuable importance to Japanese films. I’ve only just begun to tackle the field of adult/mature roles. As I approach the time in my life where my true value will be established, it’s a matter of how much nourishment and life experiences I can build up right now.”
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