When director Sho Miyake set out to make boxing drama ¡°Small, Slow but Steady,¡± he didn¡¯t just leave the film¡¯s star, Yukino Kishii, to put all the work in: He hit the gym with her and learned the basics of pugilism.
¡°We were both amateurs,¡± he says, during an interview at this year¡¯s Tokyo International Film Festival. ¡°We¡¯d be chatting with each other while we trained, like: ¡®That¡¯s difficult, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ or ¡®Why do we have to hit people?¡¯ I think we had fun.¡±
In the film, Kishii plays a fictionalized version of deaf boxer Keiko Ogasawara, who had a short professional career during the early 2010s. ??It¡¯s an unlikely role for a petite actress better known for comedies and romantic dramas, though the intensity of her performance quickly dispels any doubts.
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