Les Volontaires de la Mort

The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malay is memorable in the annuls of history for a number of reasons. For a start it cost almost ten times as much to make than other films of it's time, in Japanese cinema this was and still is a big deal.

Second that it's a straight up propaganda film! Released on the one year anniversary of Pearl Harbour it follows a group of soldiers during this time and isn't exactly historically accurate.

Being a propaganda film it feels like a two hour advertisement for the Japanese navy and twists the events in such a way that it shifts the blame and puts Japan is a wondrous righteous light and America/Britain in darkness.

For those reasons this can hardly be looked upon a historical film, it needs to be considered as much fiction than fact and viewed simply as another war movie.

From a neutral perspective it is a competent piece of cinema, though it really badly does drag. It looks incredible considering when it was made and that explains why the footage would later get into the hands of the US who believed it to be actual stock footage of the attack on Pearl Harbour.

Fascinating, but for the wrong reasons.

The Good:

Looks incredible for its time

The Bad:

Painstakingly boring

Character development is pretty weak

Still a propaganda film

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

The film failed in its mission, and I still do not wish to join the Japanese navy!

This film essentially begins with a teenage boy by the name of "Yoshikazu Tomoda" (Kaoru Ito) greeting his older cousin who has is on leave from military training where is attempting to become a pilot in the Japanese navy. Recognizing the respect his cousin receives from the local villagers, Yoshikazu becomes determined to follow in his footsteps and subsequently decides to also become a navy pilot as well. To that effect, a year passes and the scene then shifts to Yoshikazu being accepted for training and gradually completing one grueling course after another during which he grows into a respected young officer. What he doesn't realize, however, is the role he will play in one of the most spectacular battles the world has ever known-the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a good film which was limited to an extent by the propaganda element and some rather stiff acting. It does, however, offer a unique point-of-view from the Japanese perspective of the events leading up to World War 2 along with some truly excellent special effects from Eiji Tsuburaya. That being said, while the previously mentioned faults are hard to ignore, I believe that the positive attributes outweigh them and I have rated this film accordingly. Above average.

Just some info because no one else bothered to write a review - surprisingly so, as this is the most famous "national-policy-film" (kokusaku eiga). It's a recreation of the Pearl Harbor attack released on its 1st anniversary. It follows the life of a pilot recruit from being drafted until the attack in mock documentary style. At a budget of about ten times customary for the time, Toho had a scale model of Pearl Harbor constructed, with precise models of the warships present there. The attack was sequenced by Eiji Tsuburaya, using the mixture of light and editing effects that he would later work to perfection in the "Godzilla" movies. Famously, this footage was considered authentic by the US occupation forces, and hence confiscated and screened in newsreels back in the USA. That's what makes the film interesting to watch even today, while the rest is standard propaganda. Setsuko Hara makes an appearance before her rise to Ozu fame. Director Kajiro Yamamoto, who is mostly known for being Kurosawa's mentor at Toho, made the much better and critically acclaimed "Horse" (uma) just a year before. Rating 6.5/10