L'honneur des guerriers

I had the opportunity to screen Only The Brave at a special event sponsored by the filmmakers in Little Tokyo. The version I saw was close to being completed. I felt the movie resembled more of a play than a feature film; this shouldn't come as a surprise since Lane Nishikawa's background is in theater. While I found that a bit disappointing, there were aspects of the film that I admired. From start to finish Nishikawa's passion and reverence for the material is clearly evident. Overall, the acting in the film is good, and there are a handful of effective dramatic scenes. The casting of a couple of "name" actors was distracting to me -- particularly since I would be hard-pressed to call either Japanese American. Also, the version I saw lacked a traditional narrative structure, which was one of the reasons why it felt like a play to me. Nishikawa's intention is to release the finished film into theaters. I think Only The Brave is a worth a look for anyone with a special interest in Japanese American history.

I was fortunate enough to see this playing on a big screen on the beach in Waikiki. The courage of the men whose action this film recounts is extremely humbling and I got teary-eyed more than once while watching the film. Given the low budget, the director truly did an amazing job. It's a shame that the film didn't get a wide-spread release because every American should know about the sacrifices the men of the 100th IN Battalion / 442nd RCT made to protect our nation and bring freedom to the people of Europe. I know what a touchy thing it is for Soldiers when someone tells them that they are heroes, because they were doing their job, but the men this film depicts truly were American heroes, risking and in many cases sacrificing their lives in defense of a nation that had turned against them and their families. It makes their valor that much more incredible. The film was truly a labor of love for everyone involved, and it shows, because obviously the film will never be a huge commercial success. However, the writer-director has earned my respect for preserving this part of history on film. I hope this film will be available on DVD in the near future.

This is a terrific film and tribute to an unbelievable group of soldiers and just one of their amazing accomplishments. With all the renewed interest in World War II as this generation of men begin to pass from the scene, I can't believe there haven't been more films about the little- known exploits of this all-Japanese American 442nd RCT. As of this writing, this film has mainly been on the film festival circuit - I can't believe this was a low-budget, independent film - a period piece, and a war picture, to boot. A great cast, including such Asian American luminaries like Jason Scott Lee, Mark Dacascos, Tamlyn Tomita, Pat Morita (maybe his last performance), and others, along with a scrupulous attention to detail - weapons, uniforms, etc. - make this a stand-out film. The script's basic theme - that each of these men were more than just soldiers, they each had families, loved ones, reasons to live - magnify the tragedy of each death, so this film not only honors and glorifies these men's accomplishments, it also serves as a meditation on the true cost of war. Hope this sparks many, many more films about these guys!

On December 7 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy raided Hawaii's Pearl Harbor and decimated the United States Navy's Pacific battleships.

Two months later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, permitting the U.S. military to uproot thousands of West Coast Japanese and Japanese-Americans and ship them to inland interment camps.

In February of 1943, the ban on Japanese in the military was lifted and the 100th Battalion 442nd Regimental Combat Team was formed. Containing Japanese-American volunteers from Hawaii and, remarkably, from out of the mainland interment camps, the 100th/442nd was sent to Europe.

"Only The Brave" is a fictionalized account of the 100th/442nd's most famous success: the October 1944 rescue of the "Lost Battalion", the all-white "Texas" 141st, trapped behind enemy lines deep within the Vosges Mountains of France.

The movie opens during the battle for the town of Bruyeres, France. After a receiving a head wound, Sergeant Jimmy Takata (played by the film's writer and director, Lane Nishikawa) begins to "see" the memories of his dying troops. As they die, Takata also becomes a walking repository of their mementos: a signature pair of eyeglasses, a photograph of children, an engagement ring never given.

Through the Bruyeres battle and the five bloody days of desperate fighting it takes to break through the German line and rescue the 141st, Nishikawa uses Sergeant Takata as a metaphor for the quiet and proud generation of Japanese-Americans who endured life in the relocation camps, who fought in battle and who kept up the home front, but who have mostly held onto their stories. Nishikawa's moral is an old one: the release of the past brings healing for the future, but it is especially poignant given that so few of that generation remain.

Working with a limited budget and an abbreviated shooting schedule, Nishikawa wisely chose to "go small" with his shots. Each scene is personal to the viewer. Each battle is realistically chaotic without wide shots and multiple angles to give viewers their bearings. The result for the viewer is – as it is for the characters - an exhausted embrace of the story's pauses.

Nishikawa also "goes small" with his characters. The memories that haunt Takata are often short, deeply personal gut punches. The realistic pidgin banter between the "local boy" Hawaiian Japanese and the exploration of the tensions between the Hawaiian Japanese and the mainland "kotonk" Japanese are products of character development and not just tossed in for "authenticity".

Unlike many recent war films, there is little battle gore in "Only The Brave", making the infrequent bloody scenes that much more powerful.

The cast, featuring Nishikawa, Jason Scott Lee, Yuji Okumoto and Tamlyn Tomita, turn in solid performances but Pat Morita's cameo was a little wonky for me.

"Only The Brave" will definitely be worth watching when it is finally released into theaters. I was lucky enough to attend a private screening in Seattle. I'd gladly wait in line again.

I recently saw Only the Brave, and I was very impressed!

I had seen an earlier screening of this film, and although I had thought there were some very effective scenes, things didn't seem to flow together. Well, it is obvious that the director and editor have been working hard because the version that I just saw was very tight and a huge improvement over what I saw a few months ago.

I thought the combat scenes were very well done and they did a good job of conveying the amount of tension and fear that these soldiers must have been feeling. But even more so, I loved the little glimpses into the personal lives of each of these men. They helped to create fleshed out characters that the audience could have an emotional connection with.

The acting was all very strong. I liked the art direction which did a good job of making this film a step back in time to a different era.

I watched this screening along with my father who was a veteran of the 442. He was deeply moved by the film.

Kudos to Lane Nishikawa and company for making a very important movie.