Dr Nagai and his children in Nyokodo – note all the parcels!!
One of the most fascinating pieces of archive material we came across when researching the story of Dr. Nagai was a radio interview with him, recorded five years after the bombing.
Speaking from his bedside in Nyokodo, the tiny wooden hut he occupied with his two children, Dr. Nagai thanks his children for their unwavering support, and expresses indignation about the perpetual warfare in the world. The Korean War broke out in June 1950.
Poignantly, he also speaks of his determination to keep on writing for the cause of world peace.
Perhaps though, the most remarkable thing of all is how clearly the warmth and humour that made him so well loved is evident, even to those who don’t speak Japanese.
Walter Enloe is a teacher at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota USA, he is also a prolific author on the atomic bombings of Japan (as well as being involved in several exhibitions promoting world peace) and is just about to release a new book on Dr. Nagai entitled The Saint of Nagasaki. Mr Enloe has very kindly offered to carry a flyer for All That Remains in each of the books!
The book contains 60 photos and 25 drawings by Dr. Nagai, kindly supplied by his grandson, Tokusaburo Nagai, which are used to construct a narrative. For anyone interested in the life and work of Dr. Nagai this will be a must read.
As mentioned above, Walter is from Saint Paul, Minnesota, since 1955, this city has been twinned with Nagasaki. After the atomic bombing the citizens of Saint Paul set up a special program to help Nagasaki recover from the damage it had sustained, and today theSaint Paul-Nagasaki Sister City Committee (SPNSCC)continues to promote beneficial relationships between the American and Japanese people in the two cities, and to promote the cause of peace.
Next year will mark the 60th Anniversary of this special relationship.
To find out more about Mr. Enloe and his books please do check out his website here – there are so many other stories that deserve to be told to wider audience.
Takashi’s and Midori’s final resting place – 1st May 1951
63 years ago today, on May 1st 1951, Takashi Nagai – the “Saint of Urakami” passed away.
It was a short but full life. In his 43 years he had managed to fit in a lifetime of accomplishments and created an enduring legacy through his teachings and writings.
The good doctor, although more or less bedridden in his final years, worked tirelessly to make Urakami district (ground zero) a place where “beautiful flowers will bloom”.
He left behind copious essays, memoirs, drawings and calligraphy on various themes including God, war, death, medicine, and orphanhood. These enjoyed a large readership during the American Occupation of Japan (1945–1952) as spiritual chronicles of the atomic bomb experience.
His work towards the spiritual restoration of his country led to him being honoured as a National Hero of Japan, and in 1991, “The Takashi Nagai Peace Award”, was founded to annually promote writings and essays on “love” and “peace” from all over Japan.
As befitting a man born into a Samurai family (Samurai means “to serve”) he has recently been honoured by the Catholic Church with the title “Servant of God”, the first step to sainthood. But to many people in Nagasaki and around the world, Takashi Nagai is already considered a saint.
Walking around Nagasaki today you will still find a living legacy to the spirit of Dr. Nagai. Surrounding Urakami Cathedral are the cherry trees he planted shortly before his death. They defied science which declared that no life could grow there for 75 years.
Nagasaki is indeed a city that has risen from the ashes. It is a city where the past has left its indelible shadow forever imprinted upon its surface and on the collective consciousness of its inhabitants, but it is also a place that embraces the future, a city that continues to grow and bloom.
These past few months directors Ian and Dominic Higgins have been buried away working on the edit of the film, honing scenes, polishing the visuals and designing the soundscape, but now they have announced they will shortly present the first test screening of a completed edit (with only directors and producers present) – so stay tuned for more info on this!
In the meantime, it appears our film isn’t the only thing to soon be revealed (albeit at this stage to only select crew). We came across an interesting and very timely story in the Ashai Shimbun newspaper.
It is common knowledge that Dr. Nagai was a convert to Christianity and that it was his new found faith that he turned to when confronted with the horrors of war. What is not common knowledge though is that Christianity in Japan is a little different to Christianity in the West.
Having been driven underground in the early 17th Century by the Japanese government of that time, these hidden Christians or “Krishitans” as they became known, began to develop their own form of Christianity, incorporating certain aspects of Buddhism and Shinto into their practices.
Now it seems the Vatican is about to start its first extensive study on the Krishitans.
A still from “26 Martyrs” courtesy of Pixel Revolution Films
Naturally there are some who question as to whether the Krishitans should be considered as Christians.
Annibale Zambarbieri, a professor of religion at the University of Pavia in Italy, has this to say in answer, “I think that we should call them, ‘Old Christians.’ Christianity has often mixed with local cultures. Even Pope Francis said that they are model believers. There is no reason not to regard them as Christians.”
On Christmas Eve 1945, a single bell rang out across the atomic wasteland of Nagasaki. For all who heard it, it was an incredible message of hope that resurrection was indeed possible.
Needless to say, it’s an incredibly important scene in our film.
The sequence required two actors to unearth a cathedral bell that has been buried beneath a pile of rubble (from the atomic blast) and to then raise it on a make-shift stand, with the scene ending on the bell ringing out once more across the wastelands of Nagasaki on Christmas Eve night.
It’s a very important scene in the film (and a very symbolic one) so we spent a lot of time experimenting with different ideas for how we were going to pull this off. After rendering some test footage with a computer generated 3D version of the bell, we decided to opt for a far more traditional technique.
Model miniatures have been used in the field of film special effects since the very beginning; in fact, one of the iconic images from the early film period is a still from George Melies’ A Trip to the Moon – which shows the man in the moon with the rocket stuck in his eye. The effect was achieved with the use of miniatures.
Concept art for George Melies’ A Trip to the Moon – 1901
Maybe the most magical aspect of miniatures is that, even today, with the stunning photo-realism that can be achieved with CGI, miniatures are still very much part of the special effects tool box, and indeed, in many cases, the best tool for the job.
In our case, the miniature was shot against a greenscreen and was then composited into a CGI rendered backdrop with the two actors (also shot against greenscreen) – so it was very much a case of traditional and modern FX techniques working together to achieve our effect.
The miniature bell lying in a pile of miniature rubble.
As it appears in the scene
The bell hanging from a make-shift support.
Below are more stills from the scene when the bell rings out for the first time since the bombing.
A Christmas message rings out
Takashi Nagai (Leo Ashizawa) hears the bell ringing out and finds inspiration
In case you haven’t heard, we’ve released the new trailer on our Facebook Page too.
A very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from team ATR!
On Saturday (5th Oct) our cameras will roll on what will be the last drama scenes for “All That Remains”.
The day will mainly consist of “pick-up” shots, that is, shots we feel we need to re-shoot or additional shots we feel a certain scene needs.
We’ll keep you posted about the final day of shooting, but in the meantime, below are a few stills showing how the shots from our previous shoots, which took place through June, July and August are shaping up, courtesy of Pixel Revolution Films.
Midori (Yuna Shin) with Makoto (Nicolas Lue-Fong)
Charissa Shearer in “All That Remains”
Helen Keller (Susan Jameson) meets Takashi.
Takashi Nagai (Leo Ashizawa) in the aftermath of the A-bombing
The grandest cathedral in East Asia
The holy man of Nagasaki
Makoto enduring the harshness of life in the aftermath of the war.
The Nagai family share a precious moment.
Takashi and Midori before Urakami cathedral
The older Kayano (Debbie-Mai Gordon) and Makoto (Henry Wu) prepare to face a new future.
We’ll also be releasing a brand new trailer shortly, please keep an eye on our Facebook page for more news on this, but if you want to be among the first to see it, be sure to “Like” our FB page!
Before locking ourselves away for a couple of weeks to work on editing footage that now amounts to most of the film, just time to post some more behind-the-scenes photos from last week’s shoot.
It was a great day filming. On the cast front, alongside Leo, Kaya Yuzuki returned to play Matron Hisamatsu, and, as we mentioned in our last blog, we had two new cast members; up and coming actress Charissa Shearer (watch out for her!) and we were honored to have the very talented character actresses Susan Jameson, who has been a regular face in British drama for many years, to play the part of Helen Keller.
On the crew front, South and City College Birmingham students proved to be a great asset on set once again with hair and make-up students Tania Ashworth and Samantha Wilson doing a fantastic job for us!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll also be preparing for our last day of filming which will take place in September – so watch this space for more info!
Most of the wonderful photos below are courtesy of fellow local film-maker Phil Pugh. Phil is also completing filming on his own feature film, much of which was shot on a custom built set- just down the road from our own!
If, like us, you are a fan of true independent and original films, then you might want to check out Phil’s film here!
South and City college Birmingham student Tania Ashworth applying make-up to Leo Ashizawa (Takashi Nagai)
Fellow South and City college Birmingham student Sam Wilson working on Charissa’s period hair style
Tania doing the finishing touches to the hair!
Producer Nigel Davey shares a joke with Charissa Shearer, Susan Jameson and costume ace Monica Price
Leo and Charissa relaxing between takes
Ian discussing a scene with Charissa and Leo
Susan Jameson gets into character with Charissa Shearer
Susan with Leo, rehearsing the moment Helen Keller meets Dr. Nagai
Charissa and Leo waiting to film a scene
Monica, Tania and Leo with freshly shaved head!
Producer Nigel Davey with wardrobe ace Monica
Susan and Charissa about to go for a take
Leo having a spot of make-up retouching!
Our two assistant camera men, Josh and Dan step in front of the camera to act as body doubles for us!
Dominic setting up his camera while Josh sets up for another angle. Photo credit: Chris Willmore
Kaya Yuzuki and Leo about to film a scene. Photo credit: Dan Woodward
Leo with Stephen Green on clapper duties. Photo credit: Dan Woodward
Short clip set on the morning of the day the bomb was dropped (Clip is pre-sound mixed).
68 years ago today at precisely 11.02 am, the 2nd Atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan, detonated over the Urakami district of Nagasaki. Six days later the war finally came to an end and the American occupation began.
Nagasaki is often referred to as the “Forgotten A-Bomb city”, but one man helped to generate worldwide interest in the event. That man was Dr. Takashi Nagai- mainly confined to a bed, living with his two children in a small hut near ground zero, he wrote extensively about the disaster and the need for world peace.
What Makes Dr. Nagai’s work so unique and extraordinary is that his words are never bitter or angry. His books are deeply spiritual and make for profound reading. This is why when they were published they made such an impact on a war ravished and demoralized country.
He was visited by the Emperor himself who gave an impassionate speech to the people of Nagasaki during his visit. Western celebrities also made the pilgrimage to see the ‘Holy Man of Nyokodo”.
The Emperor (Gakuji Nomoto) visits Takashi (Leo Ashizawa) in Nyokodo.
The Emperor speaks to the people of Nagasaki. A dignified and stirring performance from Japanese actor Gakuji Nomoto
It is also one year ago today that we shot our first scenes with cast and crew. Yesterday marked the penultimate day of the shoot, and the day was partly dedicated to re-creating the visit of American icon, Helen Keller to Takashi’s hut.
Helen Keller, the first goodwill ambassador from America visits Takashi
Helen Keller was a remarkable woman, who overcame blindness and deafness to become a prominent and renowned writer and social activist. Helen was a much loved and respected figure in Japan and her visit to Japan after the war, was the first official visit from a US goodwill ambassador and very much a state affair
Playing the part of Helen is British actress Susan Jameson. Susan played the part with such grace and eloquence and together with Leo Ashizawa, who is of course playing Takashi; they crafted a truly beautiful and heartfelt scene.
Susan Jameson and Charissa Shearer as Helen Keller and Judith Tyler
Yesterday we also worked with upcoming actress, Charissa Shearer. Charissa plays a fictitious character called Judith Tyler, an Australian working for the Allied powers in Japan.
Again, Charissa turned up on set, looking every inch the part; she was great to work with and gave a wonderful, sensitive performance. We see a great future for Charissa as an actress and wish her all the best!
Some behind the scenes shots from our most recent shoots!
Leo Ashizawa as Takashi Nagai. Here Takashi struggles to come to terms with the emotional damage of war. Photo credit: Josh Pitt
Actress Kaya Yuzuki as Matron Hisamatsu
Ian and Leo go through a scene. Photo credit: Chris Willmore
Dominic shows Anna (Kayano) how to operate a camera! Photo credit: Chris Willmore
From left to right; Luke, Ian, Dan, Dominic and Josh shooting a scene on one of our outdoor locations. Photo credit: Chris Willmore
All That Remains 