El Eterno Zero

Eien no Zero was a big thing in Japan, basically everywhere you went you saw a trailer or a commercial for it, people at movie theatres cried during the movie. From a gaijins point of view, it was a interesting war movie, that showed so-called Japanese spirit, that went way overboard during the war.

Before the movie I read the book so I knew what to expect and the movie was way better than I could have expected. Everything felt authentic, moments in modern days didin't feel too long or jarring. People next to me were crying during the movie and I can see why. People who are nowadays called "terrorists" or "cowardly suicide bombers" were people fighting for their country, for their ancestors and their future. most of them knew that they would die during the battles, but they had to continue or they would be traitors.

I really recommend this movie, If you are interested in Asian drama or war movies, this movie is for you.

A brother and sister initiate a personal project to find out more about their grandfather, a World War II kamikaze pilot. When they discover their grandfather was universally regarded as a coward, their enthusiasm begins to wane. But the brother persists, discovering there is more to the story.

This is a subtle film, foregrounding the personal consequences of war for rounded, authentic characters. In the process, the film astutely stays away from either justifying or apologising for Japan's war actions. Jun'ichi Okada is a revelation as the pilot instructor who attempts to save his young charges from the excesses of his superiors, often at great personal sacrifice. He makes a promise to his wife, but then seems to compromise it in order to be loyal to his men. The resolution of this conflict makes for a powerful and well-plotted storyline.

The flashbacks to the war are engaging and dramatic, but the film's weak point is the bland Haruma Miura guiding us through the story. In a scene conspicuous for its shallow clunkiness, he berates his friends for equating tokkutai with modern-day suicide bombers. No real camaraderie seems to exist between the friends, and the whole scene seems designed merely to relay the point that modern-day fanaticism and historical Japanese 'heroism' cannot be equated. It is a fop to present-day rightist revisionism that is unworthy of the rest of the film.

Eien no Zero shows ordinary people living extraordinary lives in extraordinary circumstances. A thoughtful, emotional film that, casting flaws aside, proves cathartic and thought-provoking in equal measure.

This movie was a big hit in Japan which is good because it is essentialy an anti war film. The military detail is outstanding, right down to camoflage changes to aircraft and ships throughout the war. The Impirial Japanese Navy did start the war th the best pilots and best plane (Mistubishi Zero) as quoted in the movie. A lot of Japanese pilots were already veterens of the war in Manchuria (China). In the long run as Admiral Yamamoto feared the US became unbeatable once their industrial and economic power ramped up. Without a doubt the fact the allies cracked the Japanese naval code contributed to the allied victory (at Midway especialy). The nuclear bombs and then the Soviet Union declaring war on Japan forced the Japanese surrender saving countless lives no doubt. As a side note, Japan and the Russians are technicaly still at war and have land claims against each other.

Despite being one of the better films hiding among the titles on Netflix, 'The Eternal Zero' doesn't seem to have attracted much attention in the west. Given that it's a film that casts a sympathetic look at Japan's kamikaze pilots though that's not exactly surprising. It's already been subject to a wealth of controversy by critics in Japan and abroad, especially as there's one pivotal scene that compares them (favourably) to modern day suicide bombers.

This is a shame because at it's heart, 'The Eternal Zero' is a defiantly anti-war movie and a genuinely moving one. Beginning at a funeral, it focuses on siblings Kentaro and Keiko Oishi and their quest to find out more about the Grandfather they never knew. They soon discover that their relative Kyuzo Miyabe was a fighter pilot that died in a kamikaze attack on an aircraft carrier but throughout the war, he was almost universally hated by his fellow pilots. They meet with several veterans who all accuse Miyabe of cowardice for avoiding combat at any cost and after being shouted at by several angry old men, are understandably keen to throw in the towel. Then they decide to go for one last interview and things start to get more complex.

From there, the film unfolds Citizen Kane-style through interviews and flashbacks. It turns out Oishi was in truth a brilliant pilot, but one who also desperately wanted to live and return home to his wife. This made him thoroughly unpopular in a culture which at the time venerated the honourable sacrifice, but it also makes him something of a cypher character. Nobody in their right mind would want to smash themselves into a warship in a burning jet plane after all, so how does someone come to be persuaded to do that? And could it happen to any of us or was it something that only Imperial Japan could convince it's people to do?

What follows is a moving story of courage disguised as cowardice and a man who firmly believed in life at all cost rather than pointless deaths. There's a few brilliant scenes where characters juggle certain death against uncertain life, not least where Oishi convinces a fellow pilot not to turn back for a suicide run, only to wind up suffering an even worse fate because of it.

On a technical level too the film does a great job in recreating aerial combat through CGI (a practical necessity given the lack of functioning Zeros nowadays). The focus isn't on the combat though and anyone expecting constant dogfights will be disappointed. The Battle of Midway scene for example ends all too soon and often, we see the aftermath of battle rather than the battle itself. It makes up for it though in the human drama and when Oishi finds himself flying escort to his own students and has to watch them squander their lives pointlessly, it's both visually impressive and moving.

Anyone who still harbours resentment for the Japanese and their actions during WW2 however will still hate this movie. There's no mention of the atrocities of Nanking or the mistreatment of POWs for example, but then they're not the focus of the film. This is about impressionable young men being brainwashed into throwing their lives away and their ancestors struggling to come to terms with it. In that sense, Kentaro and Keiko are representative of modern Japan itself; they don't have to approve of their own history in order to sympathise with it. This is a great film, but it'll provoke a heated argument or two, a fact which it foreshadows in a night out that goes disastrously wrong.

I love Eternal Zero. I watched it twice, and I still think this movie is great.

As I'm watching it, I thought about what really makes this movie interesting for me. Is it the wonderful drama, the exciting dogfights, or the personal point of view from those war pilots? The answer: all of it. I respect war veterans, because having gone into war at a fairly young age was one of the hardest duty, not to mention how risky and full of torture it was. A kind of duty no one should undertake, because ego and greed will only lead to human destruction.

Eternal Zero gives a different perspective of war. How the main character is in all conscience not willing to die for his country. An unexpected confession, seeing how common it was for survivors to have their brain washed, so they can be patriotic in all sense, fight until the very last breath to conquer the enemy, not to holding on for dear life so they can reunite with their beloved family at home. It was pretty touching to see.

I highly recommend it, because truthfully, Eternal Zero is about human, and a view about the importance of life.