Taiwan’s proud star actor Hsu Guanghan will make his full-scale appearance in Japan in the movie “Youth 18×2: The Road to You” (directed by Michito Fujii). Locally, he boasts overwhelming popularity backed by his high acting skills, and was the voice actor for the role of Gray Heron in the Taiwanese dubbed version of director Hayao Miyazaki’s “How Do You Live?” (2023). We got a closer look at the reality of a talent who is active internationally, such as appearing in Korean dramas.
In 2023, a movie became a smash hit in Taiwan. “The Case in which a Ghost and I Became a Family” is a comedy about a straight police officer and a gay ghost who have to get married due to the ancient custom of “ghost marriage.” This film, which was the No. 1 Taiwanese film of the year and the 7th highest grossing film of all time, starred Xu Guanghan.
Shu, who started his career as a model during his university days, first gained attention as an actor when he played the difficult role of a young man with a brain disorder in the TV drama “Teacher, What is True Love?” ” (16). After that, he became a big hit when he starred in the drama “Love Through Time” (2019-2020).
Japan and Taiwan, two lands
For Hsu, the Japan-Taiwanese joint film “Seishun 18 x 2: The Road to You” is the first opportunity for him to make his presence and acting skills widely known to Japanese audiences. “The Love That Spent Time” and “The Case in which Ghosts and I Became Family” are highly popular in Japan among fans of Asian and Taiwanese works, but unfortunately they have not yet reached a wide audience. .
The director and scriptwriter is Michito Fujii, who directed “10 Years to Live” (22). The co-stars include Kaya Kiyohara, who co-starred with Shu, as well as Shunsuke Michieda, Haru Kuroki, Yutaka Matsushige, and Hitomi Kuroki from Japan.
Jimmy (Xu Guanghan) and Ami (Kaya Kiyohara) on the train ©2024 “Youth 18×2” Film Partners
The main character, Jimmy, played by Shue, is a 36-year-old man who travels to Japan on a slow train to fulfill the promise of his youth. As he is kicked out of the company he founded and his life is at a standstill, he begins to reminisce about his first love with Ami, a Japanese backpacker whom he met 18 years ago.
The story alternates between 2024, where 36-year-old Jimmy meets and breaks up with people on his travels, and 2006, where 18-year-old Jimmy is consumed by his feelings for Ami. Xu, who appeared in all episodes, stayed in Japan for about a month to film. Although he had visited Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto in the past, this time he visited many new places.
“I like all the scenes I shot in Japan. Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, and Tadami Town, Fukushima Prefecture are particularly memorable. Matsumoto is quiet and the water is pure. Tadami has beautiful nature, and I was able to enjoy the view of the lake and mountains. I thought, “What a poetic landscape!” One of the great things about being an actor is being able to travel all over the place for work (lol).
He says that the location shooting in Kamakura, the sacred place of “Slam Dunk”, was also impressive ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
The most notable scene is a snowy scene shot on the Iiyama Line in Nagano Prefecture with the cooperation of JR East. Looking back, he says, “It was magnificent, beautiful, and moving.” However, the shooting schedule was extremely tight, as the filming was carried out on an actual train that was in motion.
“The first time I met Michieda (Shunsuke), who plays Koji, was when we were filming the scene where they meet on the train, and I had to get on the train to head to the next shooting location, so I sat on the platform. After we finished filming the farewell scene, we just said goodbye. It felt like we were filming a fake documentary.”
Jimmy and Koji (Shunsuke Michieda, right) meet on the train. Director Michito Fujii says, “It was a dramatic filming experience because of the constraints.” ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
By the way, while filming in Japan was said to be “as if Jimmy was recording every detail of his travels,” in Taiwan, “it felt like they were filming a movie with a bunch of friends.” Filming was mainly done in Tainan.
“I’ve been to Tainan many times, but I’ve never been to the night market in Tainan, so I was really happy to be able to go there to film. Also, there’s an observation deck where Jimmy and Ami can see the night view. Another point is that the scene was shot in Kaohsiung, but I hope people will pay attention to the beautiful scenery of southern Taiwan.
Taiwan’s nature, scenery, and culture, which are subtly reflected, are also highlights of the movie ©2024 “Youth 18×2” Film Partners
One role, playing two different eras
A quiet and melancholy 36-year-old and an 18-year-old who is crazy about love. Her performance as Shu, who plays between her two eras, is itself the driving force behind her films.
Director Fujii said that from his first meeting with Shue, he was semi-convinced that this person could play both an 18-year-old and a 36-year-old. “When I was writing the script, I had an image of a person who was quiet but full of passion, and there were similarities with that.”
36-year-old Jimmy says a lot with his facial expressions and eyes ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
Born in 1990, Shu is 34 years old this year. Jimmy, 36, is close to her real age, so it is said that they were similar in spirit. In fact, playing an 18-year-old was a bigger challenge for him. His breakthrough film, “Love Through Time,” is also a story that spans two eras, as he plays the roles of a 27-year-old young man and an 18-year-old high school student.
“I did a lot of trial and error to see how I could show a new side of myself, including visual aspects. 18-year-old Jimmy is energetic, but he is somewhat indecisive and unstable.I personally think he is more honest and straightforward than him. We have different personalities, so we’re not alike in that respect (lol).”
Ami, played by Kaya Kiyohara, is older than Jimmy, who is 18 years old ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
Fujii praises the vivid performance of each actor, saying, “I was really moved by the variety of changes that were shown.” However, according to Shu, the hints for acting came from the play.
“If the screen time had been 5 hours, I would have liked to have seen what Jimmy was doing before he turned 36 (lol).However, from the episodes and flashbacks scattered throughout the story, I thought, “This is what Jimmy was doing.” I was able to grasp the information that says, “You’ve grown by doing this.” None of the scenes are long, but they are very carefully crafted.
“The difficulty was that as I got older, I had to distance myself from my 18-year-old self,” Shuu said.
“A movie with the soul of an adult”
When Schuh read the script, he discovered a big thing that he and Jimmy, 36, had in common. That is, “I love traveling, I rediscover myself through travel, and I am healed through travel.” Her fascination with this theme was one of the reasons she accepted to appear in this film.
“Jimmy, 36 years old, has the courage to go on a journey and face things he has never been able to face before. I’m going to experience it again and grow.”
What Jimmy finds at the end of his journey… ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
Shu says, “This film is a coming-of-age story and a love story, but it also has an adult soul.It teaches us what traveling is and what opportunities looking back on the past can give us.” The story’s key phrase, “Traveling is interesting because you don’t know what will happen,” is a line that resonated strongly with him, saying, “This is the real thrill of traveling.”
“When you travel, you see new landscapes, meet all kinds of people and events, and receive a lot of different things.It can have a big impact and even change the way you think.For me, this movie is really about the journey.It was really fun. I was able to learn a lot of things.”
Shu called Kiyohara and Fujii “travel partners” ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
As a professional actor
What was felt not only in the interview, but also in the press conferences and stage greetings that we covered this time, is actor Shu Guanghan’s stoic attitude toward his “work.”
In the past, he said in an interview with Taiwanese media, “I can give my all to the job of being an actor,” and “I would have continued acting even if I wasn’t blessed with a masterpiece,” and at a press conference for this film, he said, “I work as hard on the promotion as I do the filming.” I want to do it,” he declared. In fact, he performed on stage more than 30 times in Taiwan.
18-year-old Jimmy rides around town with Ami on his bike ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
The scale and genre of the works he appears in ranges from love stories to comedies, suspense, social dramas, etc., but he says he has “no particular criteria” for selecting works. “It’s simply whether the script is interesting or not, or whether it’s a role that I’ve never played before and that I can take on.”
He decided to appear in this movie not only because of the theme of the script, but also because “I’ve always wanted to take part in an international project.Also, I was interested in seeing if I could pull off acting in Japanese.”
“I practiced Japanese for several weeks before filming started.The director told me, “It’s okay to have an accent, but I want you to speak as much as possible with the same pronunciation as a Japanese person.” I also wanted to speak Japanese as clearly as possible because I didn’t want my co-stars’ performances to be negatively affected because of my poor Japanese.
Yukiko (Haru Kuroki, right), a part-time worker Jimmy meets in Niigata ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
There is one episode that shows his sincere personality. Regarding his nickname in Asia, “the new national boyfriend,” he once jokingly said in the Taiwanese media, “I wish people would stop calling me that.” “I’m not that good. Human beings have many sides, and I have many flaws as well. I want you to see the other side, the dark side.”
So, when we asked him, “Please tell us a little more about your dark side,” we received the following answer.
“Human beings don’t always have smooth sailing, right? When we have setbacks or things don’t go well, we just can’t act cheerfully. At times like these, we have to ask ourselves, ‘Why did this happen? What’s wrong with me? What am I thinking?’ I feel like there is a dark side to me when I delve deeply into what is true.However, unless you experience that darkness and escape from it, you will never know the true light. I don’t think I can.”
The lantern scene that Shu and Kiyohara agree is their favorite scene ©2024 “Seishun 18×2” Film Partners
This introspective side is sure to be reflected in 36-year-old Jimmy’s performance. This is definitely a part of Shu’s solid acting ability, which shows the expressions of a different person in each work.
In 2024, in addition to this work, Shu will appear in the Korean drama “No Way Out” in which he played the role of a murderer, and the spin-off drama “Jonggang Branch” (original title) of “That Time We Became Family”. ” is waiting. He is now becoming the face of Taiwanese movies and dramas as a whole, by appearing in borderless Japanese-Taiwanese co-produced films, Korean films, and Netflix series.
I’m sure that in Japan as well, there will be quite a few viewers who will become interested in Taiwanese films after being exposed to Taiwanese culture through “Seishun 18×2: The Road to You”.
So, what Taiwanese movie would you like to see after this one? When asked at the end, Shu thought for a while, “What would be better…” and then answered, “There are many great movies, but if I had to choose one, it would be “One Sun” (19).” gave. This masterpiece, which depicts the collapse and rebirth of a family and won five awards at the Golden Horse Awards, also known as Taiwan’s Academy Awards, plays the role of the kind-hearted eldest son. “Director Cheon Mong-hun’s movies are all very good. I would like everyone in Japan to see them as well.”
Interview photo: Tomoko Hanai
Interview and text: Takatoshi Inagaki
[Reference materials]
[GQ HYPE]Stop calling him your national boyfriend, Xu Guanghan: “I’m really not that good!” (GQ)
Ambilight Xu Guanghan (Esquire)
I also want to read it
Japan-Taiwan co-production “Seishun 18×2: The Road to You” is the birth of a special romantic film that connects Taiwan and Japan