By Mark Schilling
Back in the mid-nineties Japanese studios released a spate of films commemorating the
fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II -- and Japan's defeat. Many were
produced or directed by members of the war generation and looked back on the fallen
much as a speaker at a memorial service might, simultaneously glorying in their heroism
and regretting their loss.
Now another decade has passed and the industry is gearing up for a new round of war
films, with bigger budgets, more firepower and a different, less conflicted perspective.
One is Lorelei, an action drama based on a novel by Harutoshi Fukui. Koji Yakusho stars
as a submarine commander who finds himself carrying a secret weapon developed by the
Nazis. Production is set to start in March, with SFX wizard Shinji Higushi directing and
Toho scheduled to distribute.
Another is The Battleship Yamato, the come-back film of former megaproducer Haruki
Kadokawa, based on the true story of Japan's last battleship. Hit by a massive US air
bombardment, the Yamato went down in a blaze of glory in the closing days of the war,
taking all but 270 of her 3,000-man crew with her. Think of the film as a counter to Pearl
Harbor. Junya Sato will direct and Toei will distribute
Meanwhile, Kadokawa Pictures -- the film arm of the media empire now headed by
Haruki's brother, is planning to remake G.I. Samurai (Sengoku Jietai), a 1979 Haruki
Kadokawa film about a Self Defense Forces unit that finds itself back in 16th century
Japan -- and forced to battle bloody-minded samurai. Meanwhile, Shochiku and Herald
are partnering to produce Doomed Aegis, another film based on a novel by Harutoshi
Fukui, this time about desperate men who hijack a warship -- and train its missiles on
Japan.
Does this spate reflect the recent upsurge in Japanese nationalism? Or simply the
industry's urge to cash in, for perhaps the last time, on Japan's biggest adventure -- and
disaster -- of the past century?
