eskrima
06-01-2007, 07:20 PM
by Philippe Agret Sun May 27, 5:53 PM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - In the wake of "Yamato," a 2005 blockbuster depicting a famous Japanese battleship that sailed to its death against a US enemy fleet in 1945, comes a new film glorifying the lives of World War II kamikaze pilots -- this time penned by Tokyo's nationalist governor
"For Those We Love" is emblematic of the Japan of young conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has campaigned to build "a beautiful country" built on guilt-free patriotism and traditional values.
And few would be better suited than Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to produce an ode to the young kamikaze who killed themselves in an ultimately futile attempt to prevent Japan's defeat in 1945.
Ishihara, 74, was a successful writer before becoming a politician known for his outspoken defence of Japan's militarist past. He was re-elected last month to a third term leading the world's largest metropolis.
The big-budget movie -- which according to Ishihara does nothing but portray the pilots' "beautiful, but sorrowful or tragic, adolescence" -- was released on May 12 in 326 cinemas across Japan.
"The film attracted a very diverse audience, from adolescents to people in their 70s," said a spokesman for Toei, the film's distributor. "According to our poll, our audience was very interested in history and watched the movie in search of historic truth."
Toei expects the movie to attract two million viewers and 2.5 billion yen (20.5 million dollars) in revenue in the first five weeks, more than making up the 1.8 billion yen (14.77 million-dollars) it cost to make.
Ishihara himself chose the film's director, Taku Shinjo, 63, a native of the southernmost island of Okinawa, which was the final major battlefield on land before Japan surrendered to the United States.
"Without (Ishihara), we would not have been able to create this film and to have celebrities play the lead roles," Shinjo said during a presentation of his film.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070527/ennew_afp/entertainmentjapan_070527215304
TOKYO (AFP) - In the wake of "Yamato," a 2005 blockbuster depicting a famous Japanese battleship that sailed to its death against a US enemy fleet in 1945, comes a new film glorifying the lives of World War II kamikaze pilots -- this time penned by Tokyo's nationalist governor
"For Those We Love" is emblematic of the Japan of young conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has campaigned to build "a beautiful country" built on guilt-free patriotism and traditional values.
And few would be better suited than Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara to produce an ode to the young kamikaze who killed themselves in an ultimately futile attempt to prevent Japan's defeat in 1945.
Ishihara, 74, was a successful writer before becoming a politician known for his outspoken defence of Japan's militarist past. He was re-elected last month to a third term leading the world's largest metropolis.
The big-budget movie -- which according to Ishihara does nothing but portray the pilots' "beautiful, but sorrowful or tragic, adolescence" -- was released on May 12 in 326 cinemas across Japan.
"The film attracted a very diverse audience, from adolescents to people in their 70s," said a spokesman for Toei, the film's distributor. "According to our poll, our audience was very interested in history and watched the movie in search of historic truth."
Toei expects the movie to attract two million viewers and 2.5 billion yen (20.5 million dollars) in revenue in the first five weeks, more than making up the 1.8 billion yen (14.77 million-dollars) it cost to make.
Ishihara himself chose the film's director, Taku Shinjo, 63, a native of the southernmost island of Okinawa, which was the final major battlefield on land before Japan surrendered to the United States.
"Without (Ishihara), we would not have been able to create this film and to have celebrities play the lead roles," Shinjo said during a presentation of his film.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070527/ennew_afp/entertainmentjapan_070527215304