I am extremely excited that Last Cigarette has been officially completed!
Collaborating with Uri Suzuki was a special experience for me, especially as it was my first time acting with a bilingual script. What fascinated me the most was the lines different emotional impacts depending on which language they were delivered in.
In the original script, my final line was in Japanese. However, it was later modified to reflect that the character's native language is closer to her heart.
Being an English and Japanese speaker, I actually find it easier to convey my emotions in Japanese. Perhaps discussing emotions in my native English makes me feel more vulnerable.
Each language resonates with me differently and influences my emotional state. And I can sense a slight shift in my personality within each language.
For example, I tend to be more apologetic and soft spoken to strangers when I am in a Japanese environment. But with close friends, or when I'm being playful, I tend to use rougher and sometimes masculine types of speech.
When I speak English, I do not code switch as much in terms of type of words used. Unlike Japanese, English does not inherently have status and humility types of speech. Though my silly playfulness is the same in each language, in Japanese I am also more aware of my status in a group.
In this film, characters Jane and Emily are best friends, however Jane is younger. While I still used casual Japanese, there is a submissive shyness to Jane that comes with being of a lower social status. Plus, Emily is so cool! For Jane, it's hard not to admire her.
Collaborating using each other's native languages was beneficial as it allowed us, as actors, to communicate about our characters' emotions and and how they expressed themselves in this intense situtation.
Exploring lines in both languages and observing how it affected us as actors was a very exciting aspect of working with a bilingual script.
I hope you enjoy watching Last Cigarette.
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