Tsumabuki Satoshi and Matsuyama Kenichi's first film co-starring with one another, "My Back Page", opened nationwide on 130 screens on May 28th.

The two appeared along with the rest of the main cast and megaphone-toting director Yamashita Nobuhiro at Tokyo's Shinjuku Piccadilly to greet viewers at the theatre on opening day.

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Set in the later half of the 1960s, in the surrounding enthusiastic atmosphere of student movements, the film depicts the fateful meeting between journalist Sawada (Tsumabuki) and the new-left-wing leader Umeyama (Matsuyama). Both stating that becoming an actor was "a fateful meeting" that influenced their lives, the two co-stars talked enthusiastically about their personal philosophies.

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Tsumabuki recalled his early days as an actor, saying, "I admired the world of show business, but it's not like I wanted to be a really amazing actor. So there was a part of me that didn't take this life seriously. After beginning to act, I couldn't do anything right and I felt really frustrated." He went on, saying, "I was just reckless" and "It was by chance that my fate changed as well. I believe that everything changes along with your mindset."

Matsuyama revealed his hardships, saying, "Even though I moved to the city at 16, until I turned 20, I just worked part-time jobs, and I had a lot of troubles and conflicts."

Even though his roles continue to pile up, and it's been decided that he'll appear in a long-running historical drama, Matsuyama says, "I think that the reason I was able to get such large roles is because I was able to get continuous work. Even for someone like me, who didn't know anything before, I think that chances will come to people who are able to have successive roles."

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At the theatre event, Tsumabuki read with great emotion a letter from Kawamoto Saburou, the original author who the character Sawada was modeled after. Tsumabuki said proudly, "I met with Kawamoto-san many times, but I couldn't check with him to see if I was doing it right while acting. Knowing nothing about those times, we created our own era, and were able to express the seriousness of loss and frustrations."

Matsuyama said to the viewers, "It's because we're living in times like these that I feel like it's really important to understand the past. It would be good if you could see some part of yourselves through this movie."

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Also appearing at the event were Kan Hanae, Kutsuna Shiori, and Nakamura Aoi.

Source: Eiga