Eiko Ishibashi provides more than just music for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s movies, with her compositions being central to the Japanese filmmaker’s dramas, so much so that they take on the life of a supporting character.
There have been consecutive Asian Film Awards (AFA) wins for Ishibashi’s work on, first, the Oscar-winning Drive My Car and, this past Sunday night in Hong Kong, Evil Does Not Exist. In both films, the composer’s music helps drive the narrative, as much as set the mood.
Evil Does Not Exist grew out of plans for a concert Hamaguchi and Ishibashi were working on. Such was the depth and breadth of their discussions that the filmmaker started to see specific characters and situations emerging, and he then gathered them into a screenplay that deals with an environmental flashpoint in rural Japan, which is shadowed by the looming threat of violence.
The long-time partner and musical collaborator is one-time Sonic Youth member Jim O’Rourke, Ishibashi’s music now seems a long way removed from her early days as a punk rocker in the 1990s — a life she kept secret from her office colleagues while pursuing her day job as a clerk. But the reality is a different matter entirely.
“It’s always in my heart. There’s a little bit of punk in everything I do,” she tells The Hollywood Reporter, when sitting down to talk about her music, her career and her movies before this year’s AFAs.
Can you share your memories of when music first entered or impacted on your life?
When I was growing up, there was a piano at home. My father loved that piano, but he only knew how to play one song, and he would keep playing the same song over and over again. That’s how I learned to play. I didn’t know the name of the song, but I can still play it. That’s what first got to touch the piano and it all started from there.
How did you first come to realize that music would be your life?
I joined a punk band [Panic Smile] when I was around 20-something years old, but I never thought music was going to be her career. I was working a full-time job as an office clerk while playing music at night. No one at work about this other life I had. I kept it secret. There was no really big turning point. I just basically worked really hard to make music at home and music slowly took over my life.
How would you describe the music that interests you and the music that you compose?
That’s a really difficult thing to do. I think that maybe until the day I die I won’t be able to find the right words to describe my own work. But it’s easy for me to talk about the music I love.
So who influenced you when it came to making music for movies?
Jack Nitzsche’s work on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was a big influence. If you listen to that music it’s like the music opens up American life, from America’s nature to its history. It’s like it helps you understand America. There’s a lot of depth to his music.
Can you share your side of the story of how Evil Does Not Exist came about?
After he approached me about this music project, we spent two years writing emails to each other to talk about everything. There were some themes that we discussed such as the issues of waste and its effect on the environment, and even the theme of lost memories. As we talked about how these themes could be incorporated into music, he just started to shape a story – the story that became the film. I think during those emails, something sparked Hamaguchi’s story into life. I even think he must have found some essence of violence in my music, which has made it into the film. I actually think that violence is unavoidable in this world. It exists, and he also thinks that.
How do your musical tastes differ and connect with Hamaguchi’s?
There are huge differences. I suspect Hamaguchi probably listens to a lot of J.Pop at home. But I think he overcomes those musical tastes when it comes to making his movies. When it comes to making music for his movies, we are on the same page.
Evil Does Not Exist has one of the most enigmatic endings in recent memory. What was your take on it?
When I first watched the film, I didn’t understand the ending, but then I think you don’t have to understand the ending. I can’t really explain why but it still totally made sense to me, even though I don’t understand it. I felt that in my heart. Even Hamaguchi might not be able to explain what happens, but with him, in my opinion, that’s a fairly natural thing. What I do know is I just really enjoyed that ending.