Mexico City newspaper “El Universal” published an exclusive interview with Japanese actress Kaori Momoi.
64-year-old Momoi, who has dedicated 45 years of her life to performing arts, was in a good mood, she greeted in Spanish with a “hola, mucho gusto“, then smiled and sat at the lounge of a hotel in San Miguel de Allende.
She speaks English, but prefered to have a Japanese-Spanish interpreter, because she does not want to omit any of the main ideas by using a non-native language for both, interviewer and interviewee.
Momoi started saying: “Japanese producers are focusing in a different style of film based on Manga and this is consuming us.” Then she explained: “when we are watching a movie, we want to see the story of a person that could change our own life. However, in Manga that doesn’t happen, somehow the characters do not show their feelings.”
The actress could be not very well known in Mexico, but she plays one of the main roles in “Memoirs of a Geisha” and has worked with famous directors, such as Akira Kurosawa (in Kagemusha: “The Shadow Warrior”).
Kaori Momoi declared: “Japanese cinmeatographers are making a lot of money with Manga films these days”
Kaori Momoi, who is a prestigious Japanese actress (photo: google)
“In the last decade, Japan have produced some of the best horror films as well as prestigious TV programs, which have reached world record audiences”, she continued
Momoi is not only one of the best actresses of her country, but also a cinema’s director, singer, essayist, dancer and teacher (photo: giff.mx)
On Friday July 22, during the opening ceremony of Guanajuato International Film Festival at San Miguel de Allende, Momoi received a tribute for her artistic career. Along with Mexican actress Dolores Heredia, rode through the streets of the colonial city on a “Calandria” in the middle of folkloric celebration featuring regional music and dances.
That night, as a surprise to the attendants in the Main Garden of SMA, Momoi presented her short film, that tells the story of Chinese persecution in Mexico. Under the direction of Mexican Carlos Bolado, it is part of “La habitación”, which will premiere soon.
Momoi concluded: “I told GIFF Director Sarah Hoch: Why not showing the short film to kick off the festival? And she agreed… while we were working on it, the staff was very professional.”
Sixty four year old Kaori Momoi looks twenty years younger (Photo: El Universal)