Directed by Oliver Hermanus, the film tells the story of a reserved civil servant who, on the verge of death, will gradually open up to others.
Anchored in 1950s England, the story echoes another story.
The one that made Kazuo Ishiguro a literary phenomenon: "The Remains of the Day", also adapted on the big screen with Anthony Hopkins.
Two texts rooted in the past for a reason.
This phlegm, which makes the very British identity, is difficult to find in present-day Britain with its grandiloquent politicians and its royal family which is publicly torn apart, assures the one who grew up in the United Kingdom and received the Nobel Literature in 2017.
"There aren't many left on the surface," he said in an interview with AFP, conducted by telephone from London.
"I watched it fall apart growing up. Princess Diana's death was an interesting marker of how far Britain has come... Of what an appropriate display of emotion was."
Nobel Prize in Literature Kazuo Ishiguro at the premiere of "Live" on November 6, 2022 in Hollywood, California © VALERIE MACON / AFP/Archives
According to him, this reserve, which often passes for coldness, is a legacy of the British colonial past, the former largest colonial empire in the world.
"British middle and upper classes were trained to present this kind of facade to their colonial subjects," he said.
"Magnificent Life"
"Imagine coming out of a horrible boarding school only to find yourself at 19 in a stifling climate, with hardly any friends, having to keep this facade because you have to represent the + superior race +".
The two world wars also greatly contributed to the persistence of this character trait.
"I'm sure people in Ukraine right now are also feeling that pressure. You don't start panicking and screaming how you feel," he continued.
Remake of the film "Ikuru" by the master of Japanese cinema Akira Kurosawa, "Vivre" has a particular resonance for the writer, who, a child of Japanese immigrants from the middle class, never aspired to greatness.
Actor Bill Nighy at the premiere of "Live" on November 6, 2022 in Hollywood, California © VALERIE MACON / AFP/Archives
"You have to do things for themselves in a way that really satisfies you," he explains.
"The film taught me that making a special effort can turn a small, empty life into a beautiful life."
"I was incredibly lucky and found myself where I am today but there is a part of me that thinks the assessment of success and failure should be something private," he said.
When it came to defending the "Vivre" project, Kazuo Ishiguro insisted that Bill Nighy, known for his role as a rock star on the return in "Love actually", plays the main role.
He has since been up for a Golden Globe.
"More than any other actor, he is able to represent this English spirit, this way of being", explains the writer.
"What is difficult with this kind of character is that it is easy to pass for someone cold. We need his charm".
Despite a very "British" atmosphere, the film has a universal scope.
“We all have this battle within us: there is both the fear of exposing ourselves to others but also this burning desire to connect with others and not to be condemned to isolation and loneliness”, underlines the writer.
© 2022 AFP