‘Nihon igai zembu chinbotsu’ reviewed at the Japan Times

The Japan Times has put up a review of the new film ‘Nihon igai zembu chinbotsu’[The Sinking of Everywhere Else But Japan].

The premise is just as absurd as Komatsu’s story, but it puts that silliness up front. If all of Japan can suddenly sink, then why can’t all of the world sink except Japan? The year is 2011 and that is just what has happened, with all the world’s leaders and millions and millions of its population fleeing to Japan to survive.

At first, this is heaven for the Japanese. Not only do Hollywood stars rush to appear in low-budget Japanese movies, but foreign politicians suck up to Japanese leaders, as even the Chinese and South Korean presidents gleefully tell the Japanese prime minister how they love worshiping at Yasukuni Shrine. With foreigners desperate for jobs, it seems like every Japanese man has three Caucasian maids, eager to serve their “goshujin-sama” even in the toilet.

That alone would make for a funny but offensive movie, so it’s good the story capsizes its own creation. Racial tensions rise as Japanese become more and more resentful of foreign interlopers and the government finally creates the Gaijin Attack Team (thought up by the defense chief, played by no less than Hiroshi Fujioka, the actor famous for playing superhero Kamen Raida and who starred in the first Nihon Chimbotsu) to rid the country of unruly aliens. As one might expect, it’s only a matter of time before Japan gets its cheap SFX comeuppance.

Nihon Igai Zembu Chimbotsu’s satire sometimes seems to reflect the globally less complex times of the 1970s, but it is still effective today when political calls for Japanese to take pride in their nation are often made by stepping on the backs of others. Kawasaki’s film also has its loci of pride, particularly the saccharine Japanese family and chintzy sci-fi movies (of which Nihon Igai is definitely one), but it’s a lot more self-deprecatory than the portentous film it parodies.

Since I liked the cheesy ‘Ika Resura’ film, I might check out ‘Nihon igai zembu chinbotsu’ when it comes out. The scene of Korean and Chinese leaders praising the Yasukuni Shrine sounds ridiculously funny.

[Story found via Ryuganji]