French movie star Alain Delon, who passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday, was revered as a deity in Japan, according to local fans who spoke to AFP on Monday.
“In Japan I am a kind of a god,” Delon stated in 1986 during one of his visits to Japan, where fans would faint and chase his limousine.
“People delight in touching me, caressing my hand, kissing my fingers,” he shared with Figaro Magazine, recounting fans lavishing him with gifts ranging from red roses to statuettes.
Delon gained fame in Japan with his role in “Purple Noon” (1960) as the handsome, murderous anti-hero in the original film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s thriller “The Talented Mr. Ripley”.
“He portrayed an ambitious ruffian who cherished money, women, and was willing to do anything,” said film critic Sahoko Hata, who was in the Japanese movie industry at the time.
“This thirst mirrored that of Japanese youth during that era,” Hata added.
– Still in love –
Delon first visited Japan in 1963 to promote his films, becoming a regular on television variety shows and at society events.
His television appearances consistently broke audience records, and he was a fixture at the top of Japan’s most popular celebrity rankings until the mid-1970s.
“My friends in their 70s and 80s are still completely enamored with him. Even at 88, he remained handsome,” shared 74-year-old Delon fan Seta with AFP.
“I used to think to myself: ‘How can such a captivating person exist in this world?’,” admitted Seta in Tokyo.
“He was strikingly handsome, elegant, and mildly enigmatic,” she affirmed.
For Kaoru Fujita, a woman in her late 50s, Alain Delon was synonymous with “the handsome man”.
“If I had to compare him to someone, it would be George Clooney or Brad Pitt,” Fujita expressed to AFP.
“However, there is no one with the classic handsomeness he possessed. As an actor, he was unparalleled,” she concluded.
– Socks and cigarettes –
Delon evolved into a French chic ambassador, representing the Japanese fashion brand D’Urban and appearing in Mazda cars advertisements.
The “Alain Delon” brand was introduced in 1978, targeting Japan and other Asian countries, offering accessories from watches and socks to cigarettes.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a Japanese travel agency arranged tours to Europe featuring a banquet in Paris with Delon in attendance.
Additional paid options included presenting Delon with a bouquet or having a souvenir photo taken with him.
“Delon had a dark, wistful, mysterious, and ambitious side, but also a touch of vulnerability,” shared former Tokyo International Film Festival programmer Yoshi Yatabe with AFP in 2022.
“This darker side resonated with Japanese viewers who have a soft spot for underdogs. In kabuki theater, for instance, the audience empathizes with the weakest,” Yatabe elaborated.
“France and Europe seemed so distant to me, so I often wondered about his background,” reminisced 71-year-old pensioner Mikiko Tsuburaya.
“I was still a child back then, not yet an adult. I viewed him as someone from a different world,” Tsuburaya explained.
etb-oh-stu/fox
