Films

Anachronisms In Chinese War Movies

ChinaSmack has translated a pretty funny article that points out the use of ridiculously inaccurate weapons and uniforms in some of the popular anti-Japanese war movies that appear so often on Chinese TV:

Domestically produced war films or television series have always been controversial, the reason being that the enemy is always portrayed as having low intelligence, dying immediately upon shot. Whereas our military are all incomparably heroic, almost invincible and ever victorious.

Look at these pictures below, they’ll definitely dumbfound/stun you.

[...]
AK-47! In the 30’s and 40’s did China already have such a divine weapon??!

The Japanese Army [of WW2] equipped with the extremely advanced weapon, the AK! Note the red circle!

View the rest of the silly pictures and translations of Chinese netizens’ comments here.

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James Franco to Play Lead in American “Akira” Film?

Actor James Franco is being considered for the role of Kaneda in the American live-action adaptation of the classic Japanese anime film “Akira”:

Filmmakers Albert and Allen Hughes (The Book of Eli) are collaborating with Iron Man/Cowboys & Aliens co-screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby on the live-action version of Akira, which shifts the setting from futuristic Tokyo to Manhattan. According to Just Jared, Franco would star as the leader of a biker gang (a character named Shotaro Kaneda in the original manga/anime), whose comrade is kidnapped by the government and subjugated to scientific experiments that cause him to develop dangerous psychic powers.

While Franco is arguably a more convincing choice to play the head of an anarchistic gang than Zac Efron, the 32-year-old actor seems a bit much on the mature side to star as an adolescent rebel. The Hughes Brothers movie might feature a significantly re-worked version of the Kaneda character, so that he’s more of a fully grown, Mad Max breed of ruffian than a futuristic James Dean type – if so, Franco being cast makes more sense.

Unofficial fan trailer for this movie:

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Sakae Oba: The Fox of Saipan

If you’ve been watching a lot of Japanese TV lately, you’ve probably noticed that there are many commercials for a new war movie, Taiheiyō no kiseki –fokksu to yobareta otoko ( 太平洋の奇跡−フォックスと呼ばれた男−, or, Miracle of the Pacific: The Man Called Fox). It’s based on the story of Sakae Oba, a Japanese officer who refused to surrender when American forces captured Saipan in 1944:

On 7 July, Captain Ōba and his men participated in the largest banzai charge of the war in the Pacific. After 15 hours of intense and unrelenting hand to hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead. Allied forces declared the island secured on 9 July 1944. By 30 September 1944, the Japanese Army made an official presumption of death for all personnel of unknown status and they were declared killed in action. That included Captain Ōba, and he was awarded a “posthumous” promotion to Major.

In reality, Captain Ōba survived the battle and took command of 46 other soldiers. Ōba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture. He and his men organized the civilians and placed them in mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Captain Ōba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of U.S. Marines. Ōba used Mount Tapochau as their primary base; at 473 meters (1,552 ft), the peak offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Ōba and his men occasionally conducted guerilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the frustrated attempts to find him, the Marines on Saipan eventually referred to Ōba as “The Fox”.

Captain Ōba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On 27 November 1945, former Major General Umahachi Amō, commander of the 9th Independent Mixed Brigade during the Battle of Saipan, was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amō was then able present documents from the defunct Imperial General Headquarters to Captain Ōba ordering him and his men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On 1 December 1945, three months after the official surrender of Japan, the Japanese soldiers gathered once more on Mt. Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead. Ōba then led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Captain Ōba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kurgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. They were the last organized resistance of Japanese forces on Saipan.

The movie seems to place emphasis on how Oba saved the lives of civilians by helping them hide in the jungles. Considering the fact that many other Japanese civilians died in the battle and thousands committed suicide rather than face capture, Oba’s actions probably did save some from such a fate.

Here’s a couple trailers for the film (which demonstrate how the f-word is perfectly okay in Japanese movie previews):

From the trailers, we can see that Oba gets major hero treatment in the movie. In addition to saving babies and convincing his fellow Japanese keep living, he also seems to earn the respect of his American foes.

There are also a few seconds of footage that show Toshiaki Karasawa’s character:

Karasawa plays an ex-Yakuza who fights alongside Oba. He shaved his head and bulked-up for the role, making him look very different from his typical appearance.

According to the Saipan Tribune, the film is expected to help the island’s tourism industry:

The movie has also sparked interest from tour agency Kinki Nippon Tourist (KNT), which is developing a special tour package to Saipan, with Japanese tourists expected to visit the major sites shown in the movie. KNT’s tour also offers a 300 Yen Discount coupon to view the movie.

“Despite our limited resources, we agree this tour program is a worthwhile promotion and are allocating a portion of the Japan office’s baseline budget to support its development,” said Bateman.

The film hits theaters across Japan on February 11th. I haven’t seen any information about an international release date, but its IMDB page shows that the film has been given the English title of “Oba: The Last Samurai” (based on a book of the same title).

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Mothers’ Way, Daughters’ Choice

This morning, I came across the trailer of an interesting-looking documentary about Japanese women who moved to New York to achieve career and life goals that they didn’t believe were possible within Japan:

“I love my mother, but I just don’t want to be like her.” Why would successful women from the world’s second largest economic power choose to start their lives in New York City? This documentary film explores how several Japanese women struggle to reconcile their traditional upbringing and their desire to create unique lives. To understand these struggles, the director, Kyoko Gasha, shows the deep, powerful influences of Japanese culture on her own life. Kyoko has uncovered stories of other Japanese women in New York City, weaving parallel tales of guilt, sacrifice and joy. This is a story of cultures clashing on a personal level.

A schedule of screenings can be found on the film’s official website.

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