Given the charged subject matter, what was the interaction like between the Chinese and Japanese cast members?
It was tough. Basically, the Chinese actors and the Japanese actors didn’t speak to each other much on set. They were divided by an invisible line into two groups. I witnessed that and thought it was really sad. One of the lead Chinese actors told me he refused to look at the Japanese actors on set, because when they were dressed in their uniforms it made him remember that they had killed so many of his relatives seventy years ago. The process of shooting was very emotional for everyone. I tried to build bridges; I invited the Japanese boys to go out and have have drinks with the Chinese actors. By the end of shooting, the gap was starting to close a little. At the end of the shoot we had a big feast, and some of the actors from both sides hugged. I was moved at that moment–I thought it was very meaningful.

You created the character of Kadokawa, the Japanese soldier who resists the brutality and slaughter. What did you base him on?
Kadokawa was based very directly on material I read. One of the soldiers’ diaries I read had a picture of its owner, and when I went to Tokyo to cast the character, I looked for an actor with a physical resemblance to this picture. So Kadokawa is ninety percent based on the truth, even down to the way he looks.