Lorelei

The directorial debut of Shinji Higuchi, Lorelei very quickly sinks into ridiculous territory despite the promising initial set-up. Sadly, for all the inspiration it can take from Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot, the humanisation and exploration into the psyche of the submarine crew was not one of them; so much of the film flounders around with nonsensical political undertones that I've seen people criticise Takashi Yamazaki for, yet it's one full display here. Glorifying suicidal charges and glossing over human experimentation as if it were a trivial matter. So much of Higuchi's talent and style isn't here, often coating everything in a horrendous digital sheen; the direction is okay at best but honestly, it could have been anyone else behind the camera, let alone Higuchi. The acting is easily one of the better aspects with everyone turning in solid performances, however, the cast is given so little to work with that all their characters end up as one-dimensional cutouts. The music by Naoki Sato is passable but far from his best work and the less said about the incredibly rough CG effects, the better. I really wanted to like Lorelei going in, but the dubious political alignments and underwhelming filmmaking stamped out any form of entertainment I could have gotten from this, I expected far better.

If you, like me, watch this hoping to see a Japanese "Das Boot" one of three things will happen:

1. You fail to realise that this is not a Japanese "Das Boot". You won't like the film and you will leave a 1-star rating.

2. You do realise that this is not a Japanese "Das Boot", but don't like what it in fact is. Ratings will range from "I didn't like this, and that's all that counts" 1-star ratings to good ratings of "while I didn't like this, I can appreciate the movie for {how it was made/story line/whatever}".

3. You do realise that this is not a war movie but in fact a science fiction drama in a world war II submarine setting, and that is something that you at least don't immediately dislike just because of that.

Once I came to terms with this being a science fiction-movie I actually started to enjoy it. I like the fictional story line as well as the science fiction parts of the movie and the movie feels very good made. If I watch it again starting with the right expectations it's even possible that the rating will go up another star.

I think that where the movie falls short when compared to other movies en large is just the mix of genre and setting. It's like the Caprica TV-series, said to be a Sci-Fi Dallas. While not a bad series in itself people who like Dallas doesn't necessarily like Sci-Fi and vice versa, and therefore the series gets a bad average rating. I can therefore understand the low average grade this movie gets despite that this movie actually is quite good.

A solid performance by Yakusho, a great soundtrack, great effects... It is a film really not only to watch but to treasure. Those that enjoyed Das Boot, or like films like Saving Private Ryan must appreciate the craftsmanship and the detailing that Lorelei offers beyond any national jingoism.

Certainly its a "would be" scenario but portraits the spirit and the soul of Nihon, the sushi-do spirit that portraits the fighting spirit of the Japanese An Western reading of the film would be a complete misunderstanding of the real meaning that this Japanese epoch means, and the healing that brings both in performance as in soundtrack.

The slick music is a flaw. It's a pity that traditional Japan music can't be adopted in movie about modern affair. Music sound tedious in a repeated oppressive rhythm, as well as the cadenced music that helped to arose the urgency condition. Perhaps better without the background music.

Having watched some Japanese WWII movies. The common narration was: graceful landscape and relics in motherland, dear family members or lovers --everything in country is so beautiful, and all these should be cherished; be forced to frontier; found be cheated by warlord (only when defeated?); but, in any way, soldiers should behave braveness and obedience (approve the real Japanese soldiers' behavior in late stage of WWII); at last, somebody sacrificed for their honor, the survivals represent the hope of new Japan.

-- All above in the service of such a mention: the own country is the core, in other words, Japan is the most important. It seems most Japanese turn a blind eye to other nation's suffer, and addict themselves to their own perception. People in occupied territory means nothing, and if they does, they should appreciate the occupiers from the same Asia for their 'liberation' from Westerners. Defeat is not reconciled to -- 'Go down swinging'. If plot not be treated so, the nation's 'self-pride' would hurt. Sometimes, remorse or condemn to warlord are allowed, in an delicate 'apropriate' limit, but it wouldn't account for the main line. Scenarios must be turned around thereafter anyway. Perhaps someone responsibl for movies partially realized the fact, but they just wouldn't recognize it.

A fun Sci-Fi World War II film! Sci-fi WWII film you may ask? Well even if you didn't, pretend to be intrigued and shocked by the concept. The set up is simple: Having received a highly advanced submarine from Germany, the Japanese deploy it, just days after the Hiroshima A-Bomb, to seek out a transport ship carrying the 2nd bomb. The sub has a secret weapon, called the Lorelei System, and all of the crew are drawn into the mystery of what exactly it is.

Needless to say, you've probably worked out that Lorelei itself is the Sci-fi element, and it works well, even though it feels at times like a device to push forward the partially allegorical storyline. "What do you fight for?" is the question asked by this film, and by exploring the answers given, it has something to say to us about war and life. The film is not any where near as heavy, or thematically dense as seen in Casshern, so it thankfully also delivers a thoughtful, drama with some cool action, to balance out the inward reflection.

Lorelei is a "What if?" film. If the World War 2 ended differently, what would that mean for Japan? There is a large degree of dialogue in the film; expositions from various heroes and villains about the past and future of Japan. In this way, the film reminds me of anime. It's not just the philosophical speeches, it's the action scenes, the characters, and the style. Anyone who has seen Captain Herlock, Yamato, or even Blue Submarine No. 6, will feel it. I for one think it is a strength, though many will see it as a flaw. If you are looking for Das Boot, then watch Das Boot. Lorelei is about pure escapism.

The acting is all well enough and there a few veterans in there that give credibility to the story. In fact there are many familiar faces in there, and it's a fun just to count them. The CG is also very good for a non-Hollywood film - or should I say, non-ILM film. The graphics look generally realistic, but the compositing looks surreal at times. There is a dreamlike nature to the sfx that reminded me of the aforementioned Casshern, though some viewers demanding photo realism may cringe.

On the whole, the SFX, when not on par with some higher budget offerings, is at least as good or better than some of the cut-scenes seen in video-games nowadays. And the music is atmospheric and suitably militant and heroic when it needs to be, bring this overall package together. The haunting song of the Lorelei System is notably used in a few scenes to great effect. Of course the sound design is great, with all of the "submarine" sounds you expect. Can we ever get enough of that sonar sound? The DVD comes with THX certification, and Dolby and DTS tracks.

SO is Lorelei a good film? Well look at it this way: not all films are meant to be picking up "best film", and while this film is certainly one of that category, it's a fun romp. Plus, since Fatherland, I am a sucker for Alternate History films. In all, the film can be quite cheesy and contains a plot twist that I still don't fully understand, and I hope someone can enlighten me one day. However, even when Lorelei is overly sentimental and trying too-hard to pull your heartstrings, it is enjoyable. With great anime inspired undersea battles, and an interesting and involving story, its is an worth watching.

3/5 stars, or whatever unit you prefer ...