[Once again here is James Maruyama checking in from the Hawaii International Film Festival.]
Greetings again from the 26th Edition of the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival! HIFF is in its second fabulous week and audience turnout and response to the films showcased this year have been outstanding. One of the great things about HIFF is that it gives American audiences an opportunity, to watch on the big screen, theatrically run films that have or are currently being played in Asia. This year is no exception, as such diverse films such as "Sukeban Deka", "Host", "Banquet", "Akumu Tantei AKA Nightmare Detective", "Marrying The Mafia 3", "Paprika" and "APT" have made their U.S. debut at the festival. Another film which has garnered much attention and interest is Sato Junya's "Otoko-tachi No Yamato" (Men of the Yamato AKA Yamato).
Yamato (the name itself is synonymous with Japan) was one the largest battleships in World War II and while it did not engage American ships directly in the War in the Pacific, it was still considered by the Japanese a shining example of Japanese accomplishment and pride. Its legend was further bolstered by Matsumoto Leiji's immensely popular anime series "Uchu Senkan Yamato" (AKA Starblazers; 1974) which told the story of a "refitted" Yamato saving the world from alien invasion.
"Otoko-tachi No Yamato" (based on a novel by Henmi Jun) with its themes of national pride, selfless sacrifice, honor and loyalty was a tremendous hit in Japan during the Fall of 2005.
Yet the film's release unfortunately came at time when many people in Asia (particularly in China, and South Korea) felt that Japan has still not fully come to terms and acceptance of responsibility for its war time aggressions. In particular, former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi's visits to the entombed war dead at the Yasukuni Shine, which include those men of the Yamato, contribute to a continual rift in relations between Japan and its Asian Neighbors. To many in Asia, the Yamato is still viewed as a symbol of Japanese Imperial Naval aggression against other Asian countries during the War.
While "Otokotachi No Yamato" does indeed share much in common with the film "Titanic" especially in approach (the journey to the graveyard of the sunken ship; the flashback sequences; the somber tone) another film that also comes to mind was Wolfgang Petersen's 1981 "Das Boot", a film which also attempted to bring a different perspective to the war (that from the German standpoint). Like "Das Boot", "Otoko-tachi No Yamato" deals more with the young men that were thrust into the war and the horrors that they encountered during the conflict. As with "Das Boot", "Otoko-tachi No Yamato" attempts to stay well clear from any political position, especially any that may remotely glorify the military past and instead takes a stark look at what it meant to live in that time.
"Otoko-tachi No Yamato" begins with a daughter's desire to know the adopted father she has lost and uses that as a springboard to look at the various 16-17 year old sailors who were part of the ship's crew and their "rite of passage" into manhood. Even though they knew they were going to die battling the approaching U.S. forces in the final days of the war, they choose to face death with a courage and valor well beyond their youth.
"Otoko-tachi No Yamato" also shows us the escalating toll the Japanese took because of the war--from the broken families, to the mass devastation, the loss of innocence, the U.S. invasion of Okinawa and the bombing raids on Tokyo and Osaka culminating finally with the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film seems to want to say that the Japanese people have more than been punished for their government's Imperial aspirations.
Sato Junya, whose varied directorial credits include "Golgo 13" (1974), "Shinkansen Daibakuha" (AKA Bullet Train; 1975), "Ningen No Shomei" (AKA Proof of a Man; 1977) and the recent "Pekin Genjin" (1997) does serviceable work in "Otokotachi No Yamato". While sometimes a bit melodramatic, the story is paced well although does run long at 145 minutes. There are some slow moments in the middle but the harrowing final hour of the film is gripping. The cast is led by Nakamura Shido (My Lover Is A Sniper; the upcoming Letters From Iwo Jima) and Sorimachi Takashi (GTO) and also includes such well known faces such as Watari Tetsuya (Jingi No Hakaba AKA Graveyard of Honor), Nakadai Tatsuya (Kagemusha) and Katsuno Hiroshi (Mishima).
It was interesting to see "Otokotachi No Yamato" being played in Hawaii, the site of Pearl Harbor, which was attacked by Imperial Japanese naval forces on Dec. 7, 1941 and set the stage for America's entry into World War II. The audience reaction to the movie was of interested curiosity more than anything else.
Comparisons to "Saving Private Ryan" or the recent "Flags of Our Fathers" are unavoidable but unfair as each film strives to approach the subject of World War II differently.
While "Otokotachi No Yamato" is a purely Japanese film, it asks a universal question of what is honor and national pride and what tragic costs and sacrifices are being made for those ideals.
Review by James Maruyama.