I had the opportunity to screen Only The Brave at a special event sponsored by the filmmakers in Little Tokyo. The version I saw was close to being completed. I felt the movie resembled more of a play than a feature film; this shouldn't come as a surprise since Lane Nishikawa's background is in theater. While I found that a bit disappointing, there were aspects of the film that I admired. From start to finish Nishikawa's passion and reverence for the material is clearly evident. Overall, the acting in the film is good, and there are a handful of effective dramatic scenes. The casting of a couple of "name" actors was distracting to me -- particularly since I would be hard-pressed to call either Japanese American. Also, the version I saw lacked a traditional narrative structure, which was one of the reasons why it felt like a play to me. Nishikawa's intention is to release the finished film into theaters. I think Only The Brave is a worth a look for anyone with a special interest in Japanese American history.
Review of Only the Brave
