amoore-4

Another dramatization of real life events gone bad with the details and timeline unfolding over the hour, this time in exotic locations. Nothing new here. This show pedantically moves through flashbacks, photographs, documentation, cell phone transcripts, interviews and so on with family, friends, law enforcement before revealing what was already painfully clear: someone met their end under terrible circumstances. The only positive side to the stories is that it's a lesson that no matter how good a person you are or how hard you try to stay safe terrible things can befall you. The question is: don't you already know this? Do you need to live this vicariously to get it? Watch only if you want to relive other people's fateful ending to somehow satisfy your morbid curiosity. There has been a glut of dramatized 'documentaries' like this from Gabby Petito to the little girl who vanished in Portugal. These kinds of sensationized stories will stop being produced only if the audience stops watching. That means you!

Get your news from reliable sources and educate yourself on the dangers of travelling and living abroad...

History is replete with evil men who have aggressively siezed power by any means possible. Emperor Hirohito was no different in his brutality than Stalin, Hitler or Pol Pot. What separates these men and others like them is cruelty. The Japanese military were not just in the business of killing, raping and extermination. They revelled all to often in cruelty. Carrying out unspeakable acts of torture, mutilation, dismemberment and suicide bombings. It is with this true understanding of Japanese wartime history, so well hidden in antiwar bleeding heart misinformation, that gives meaning, depth and color to this superb miniseries. Any cinephile will recognise quickly that this story is told in stark, honest and uncompromising clarity of truth and vision. It is fascinating, riveting, enlightening and fulfilling for those of us who are willing or are able to allow the most painful moments of human existence into our hearts and minds, to swell with emotion and feel something special and rare has happened within, leaving you empty and full in equal measure. I sat drained as tears dried on my cheeks at the end of this guy wrenching story, fully invested and absorbed by its grasp on my attention. You will have your disbelief fully suspended as the truth in all its horror unfolds before your eyes. Yet the story is interwoven with love and tender moments both marital and otherwise, such is the toll war takes on relationships. Beautifully choreographed, photographed and edited, the time shift approach to story telling is at its zenith here. I know many, likely most people will not be able to watch this series or even be interested in the dark theme it meticulously explores. Not everyone is prepared for such visual and emotional honesty particularly if your knowledge of this horrific time comes from watching Pearl Harbour, Rambo or Saving Private Ryan. This miniseries is in league with the recent All Quiet on the Western Front or Zone of Interest. But it will leave you shaken, perhaps unlike the reality portrayed in the above two films.

A platinum collection addition.