The movie is set in the waning days of World War II, Japanese cities are being devastated by firebombing, and Hiroshima has been Atom- bombed. The plot centers on an attempt to prevent further Atomic incineration of Japanese cities by using an advanced submarine to prevent the delivery of other bombs. The Japanese cast was very strong and as others have noted, the American characters which are often third-rate actors in Japanese movies, were at least OK.
The submarine was supposedly a late donation from the Nazi's to Japan. In fact in the film, it is almost identical to the French Surcouf submarine, which defected to the allies after France fell to the Germans.
The Sci-Fi element is a young girl with an almost telepathic ability to see underwater. (I really don't think this information will spoil anything, but some viewers may be excessively touchy on such details) Other plot twists I will leave unsaid.
I was fascinated by the way the Japanese attitude to the war was presented. The link with the Nazi's was somewhat explored and there was much discussion of the faults of the elders of Japanese society for starting a war which caused such chaos to the country. Not to be too critical on this point, but the movie did seem to dwell solely on the harm which befell the Japanese people, with no acknowledgment of the harm the Japanese did to others by starting an aggressive war in the first place. The Japanese have been criticized on this issue in other contexts, notably by the Chinese. Not that this detracts from the movie, but is is something we Gaijin (foreigners) may note.
Nevertheless there is a sensitivity shown in the telling of the story which is quite remarkable given the subject matter. I found the movie to have a literary and almost poetic feel compared to a comparable American film. I mean have you ever seen a discussion of Dostoyevsky in an American Movie?
One understands the suffering of a people, few of whom had any say in starting the disastrous events of the war. The soldiers mostly just "followed orders". The civilians of the cities of Japan, ended up as the real victims.
The subplot involving the Captain on shore who orders the submarine on its mission, is not so much hard to follow as to understand the motivation. Possibly it makes more sense to the Japanese audience, who would be familiar with the book on which this is based.
The computer work was not up to western standards, but was serviceable. I was left wondering if anyone would be prepared to hire an American or New Zealand lab to redo this to a higher standard. To do so would make the movie a genuine epic.
The submarine was supposedly a late donation from the Nazi's to Japan. In fact in the film, it is almost identical to the French Surcouf submarine, which defected to the allies after France fell to the Germans.
The Sci-Fi element is a young girl with an almost telepathic ability to see underwater. (I really don't think this information will spoil anything, but some viewers may be excessively touchy on such details) Other plot twists I will leave unsaid.
I was fascinated by the way the Japanese attitude to the war was presented. The link with the Nazi's was somewhat explored and there was much discussion of the faults of the elders of Japanese society for starting a war which caused such chaos to the country. Not to be too critical on this point, but the movie did seem to dwell solely on the harm which befell the Japanese people, with no acknowledgment of the harm the Japanese did to others by starting an aggressive war in the first place. The Japanese have been criticized on this issue in other contexts, notably by the Chinese. Not that this detracts from the movie, but is is something we Gaijin (foreigners) may note.
Nevertheless there is a sensitivity shown in the telling of the story which is quite remarkable given the subject matter. I found the movie to have a literary and almost poetic feel compared to a comparable American film. I mean have you ever seen a discussion of Dostoyevsky in an American Movie?
One understands the suffering of a people, few of whom had any say in starting the disastrous events of the war. The soldiers mostly just "followed orders". The civilians of the cities of Japan, ended up as the real victims.
The subplot involving the Captain on shore who orders the submarine on its mission, is not so much hard to follow as to understand the motivation. Possibly it makes more sense to the Japanese audience, who would be familiar with the book on which this is based.
The computer work was not up to western standards, but was serviceable. I was left wondering if anyone would be prepared to hire an American or New Zealand lab to redo this to a higher standard. To do so would make the movie a genuine epic.