Nihon igai zenbu chinbotsu

This is the kind of movie I would have liked to have written myself about Japan and the foreigner experience. This is a well-written, original, totally tongue-in-cheek farce. Foreigners living in Japan spend all of their time talking about the strangeness of the experience, but it had yet to be made into good literature. It's hard to be funny (as a comedy or satire) for the full duration of a movie, and also all movies, in general, tend to founder and become clichéd in the second half, after their structural pretexts have been presented. But this one continues to deliver and be trenchantly funny and topical and original all the way through. That is rare for a comic piece. Highly recommended if you can get your hands on it, especially for anyone who has lived as a foreigner in Japan, or any Japanese who have had close relations with foreigners in Japan. People who don't know Japan will not understand the farce, and will not like this movie. People who know Japan will be rolling in the aisles.

Let's get the bottom line out of the way first: Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu isn't funny. Given the fame and high profile of the film this is parodying, it is a brilliant idea with huge comic potential. Tragically, the execution fails to mine even a fraction of that potential. I smiled at the "gaijin report," weather forecast-style reporting of gaijin 'fronts' around the country. The Chinese and Korean leaders reduced to vaudeville performing sidekicks of the Japanese PM was mildly amusing - ditto their revenge at the end of the film. I came to the film expecting outrageous laugh-out-loud moments but barely managed a titter. In a film like this, we expect the low production value, cheesy effects, ham-fisted acting and nondescript casting. We put up with them in the hope that all the effort has gone into the script. Admirably, the film takes pot-shots at both gaijin and Japanese pretensions. Unfortunately, at the risk of repeating myself, it just isn't funny. In fact, most of the time it is downright boring. All in all, a missed opportunity.

Due to rather dubious plate tectonics, every country in the world starts to sink beneath the sea... except Japan. It all happens so quickly that few survive, but the richest and most powerful in each country manage to make it to Japan to escape the watery fate of most of humanity. Politicians and movie stars that were used to being the world's elite find themselves in an entirely different situation in their new homeland, at the mercy of the generosity of their hosts - or failing that, their ability to entertain them.

THE SINKING OF JAPAN was originally a novel, released in 1973, and it spawned a satirical response in the form of a short novel called THE WORLD SINKS EXCEPT JAPAN. When it was announced that the original novel was to be made into a big-budget movie (for the second time) in 2006, the only reasonable thing for Minoru Kawasaki to do was to announce that he would make its satirical brother into a movie too... but on what must doubtless have been a fraction of the budget that could comfortably be rounded down to zero.

Whilst the rest of the world was barely mentioned in passing when Japan sank, here they are foregrounded, and the reaction of the Japanese to having to share their country with an influx of foreigners whom they now have power over is the major focus of the film. Whilst JAPAN SINKS revels in notions of the Japanese spirit excelling and triumphing in the face of adversity, THE WORLD SINKS has a much more realistic view of humanity (not just in Japan) - selfish, vain, petulant, unreliable, untrustworthy and xenophobic.

Whilst WORLD certainly doesn't have the budget for special effects that JAPAN did, it makes up for it by having a smart script and a sense of humour. Characters are mostly ridiculous stereotypes, and the film is cheerfully ridiculous on many occasions. The acting is mostly terrible, but that's not such a bad thing when the film isn't asking us take it seriously and have an emotional response. There are many non-Japanese cast members, and their ability with the language ranges from fluency to barely able to string a sentence together - which fits the situation of their characters.

There are no heroics to be found here, and no heart-warming message about triumph in the face of adversity, which means it's much less nauseating than the film it satirises - and generally more satisfying. It can't be claimed to be a great film because the production values are so bargain basement, but I happily give it... 7.5/10

I loved this movie. OBVIOUSLY it's a comedy, a great comedy. In the same vein as Monty Python or South Park, it's a movie that's meant to be offensive to pretty much everyone. Yes, it mocks the ignorance of Americans and how they are overly dependent on our military power. It also mocks China and Korea. But mostly it mocks Japan itself and the systemic xenophobia that still pervades the country to some extent. It's a highly random movie that combines the randomness and political commentary of shows like South Park, but adds the additional unique wackiness of Japanese movies. Also, it looks just as low budget as the Gojira movies of the 60s. Whether intentionally cheap-looking for stylistic reasons or due to low budget(I think this is the case), it adds a lot of laughs, especially when the Statute of Liberty sinks. To people who find this offensive, I can only say that you obviously don't understand satire or sarcasm. Maybe you should spend some more time studying Japanese culture or speaking to Japanese people and get a grasp of their humor. My advice, stop being offended at every little thing, relax, and enjoy a great camp movie. If you can't do that, maybe this movie isn't for you.

A hilarious film adaptation by Kawasaki Minoru of a parody of the famous 1970s novel Nihon Chinbotsu. Nihon Chinbotsu is the story of the Japanese people losing their homeland and being dispersed throughout the world. Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu is the opposite: the whole world sinks except Japan. The world's survivors all scramble on the small little archipelago occupied by the xenophobic Japanese. With Team America-like line of characters, all extreme stereotypes of their nation, you can't stop laughing. No one escapes the directors critique, from the traditional Japanese guy (who takes advantage of the situation and eats whale), to the Chinese/Korean leaders who suck up to Japan's Prime Minister, to the American Secretary of Defense who regrets not having started a coup d'etat in Japan, and etcetera.

Of course, the story is just incredible. Of course there are going to be those who are going to criticize this movie saying the science behind the disaster is unrealistic, the economic situation of the foreigners would not happen, and that's fine. People who are going to criticize this movie for reasons like that just don't get that they need to suspend their disbelief when watching comedies like this one who's primary focus is not to tell a believable story but a ridiculously funny one.

Then there may be those who claim this is a nationalistic film, but again, those people are the same people who thought Team America was a nationalistic film. They just didn't get the masochistic humor. This movie is critical of not just its own nationality but even the movie itself ("I don't like Japanese movies, they look so cheap").

Finally, this movie will shock you with a surprisingly funny, yet touching end (well, as touching as a comedy can get). I wouldn't say it's a must watch, but it's a good complement to Nihon Chinbotsu as well as being a good stand alone film as well.