by Gill Pringle
At just 22 years old, Honoka Matsumoto has appeared in scores of movies and TV series, unapologetically tackling sensitive subjects that would send her less fierce counterparts running for the hills.
When FilmInk meets with the actress at the 11th Okinawa International Movie Festival [OIMF], she is proudly starring in two such films, taking on cross-dressing and alcoholism – issues still largely taboo in Japan.
Momoko Fukada’s dramedy My Father, The Bride began as a half hour short in 2016, titled Dad’s Wedding, today showcasing in OIMF’s Special invitation.
Matsumoto stars as a daughter returning home upon the anniversary of her mother’s death, only to find her father wearing her departed mother’s clothes and making plans to marry a man.
“I feel like there’s still a strong prejudice against cross-dressing or gender transition in Japan and these people are teased,” says the Osakan-born actress. “So, I’m really hoping I can help spread the film’s message of: Why can’t we have a happy acceptance of everyone?”
In Kenji Katagiri’s somewhat self-explanatory, A Life Turned Upside Down: My Dad’s An Alcoholic, Matsumoto plays a girl growing up with an alcoholic dad whose drinking habit takes a devastating toll on the family.
With occasional forays into sobriety, nothing really sticks, and the man’s wife and two children are the real victims in this film.
While Matsumoto did not attend any AA meetings, she was moved by Mariko Kikuchi’s original web comic, You to Bakemono ni Naru Chichi ga Tsurai upon which the film is based.
“I used my full imagination about what it might be like to live with an alcoholic father for such a long period of time. He just never gets any better and it must have been so difficult for the family,” she says.
“I hope the film will spread awareness. If these problems don’t happen in your own personal life, you don’t really think about it – you just think it’s somebody else’s problem. But you might have friends who have similar problems so I hope this film will serve as a trigger; a good opportunity for everyone to think about these problems and share them.”
Best known for Japanese films After The Rain, The Name and Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together, Matsumoto longs to extend her career overseas, her dream leading man being Timothee Chalamet. “I love him, He is very popular in Japan because of Beautiful Boy and Call Me By Your Name,” says the actress who has a huge Instagram following herself, featuring on a Japanese celebrity reality series where she was sent to live with a family in a remote part of Northern Russia.
“Fortunately, nobody ever recognises me in person, so it’s easy for me to go everywhere and just take photos.”
Following in the Hollywood tradition of waiting on tables before getting a break, Matsumoto worked in a Japanese noodle shop before being mentored by screenwriter, Yoshikazu Okada, aged 17. “He gave me lots of roles and I learned the most about acting from him,” she says.
“I was lucky my career was successful, so I didn’t have to work in the noodle shop anymore. But I never grew tired of eating noodles – it was actually the opposite – I didn’t like the customers who left their food behind. Such a waste!”
Visiting Okinawa for OIMF always brings back fond memories, she says, “Like so many Japanese people, I first came here with a school trip when I was a teenager and then I was also at the festival three years ago. Okinawa has a unique, original and very laid-back atmosphere.”
