That's a real lunatic asylum. We found out that my now girlfriend's father was a shrink here in the 50s! It's all operational still, in South Africa, and they gave us a wing to use which wasn't operational. Once I'd decided the direction to go in with her I knew that it couldn't be made up and I couldn't shoot in a studio.

I decided that this section of the film would be very dull and grey. It's Ozu, and then it's Kurosawa. For this side it's very still - these characters are the important things. You had to keep it static, hospital stuff, and she's bored. Basically he just blows her mind with these tales that are limitless. It was difficult but I just wanted to do it. Ozu and Kurosawa, even though they're from the same country, they're not two visual styles you'd think would work in the same movie, but it's because they're so disparate that I loved it.