Nihon igai zenbu chinbotsu

This movie is based on a short novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui that parodied a much more authoritative novel done by Sakyo Komatsu which depicted the sinking of Japan into the mantle.

Yasutaka Tsutsui is famous for writing novels lampooning real life situations such as Nihon Apachi Zoku (Apaches in Japan). He's also capable of writing much more serious sci-fi such as the famous "Girl who leaped through time" (Toki o kakeru shojo). This movie is based on a short novel that was only about 10 pages long which was a parody of the more famous "Nihon Chinbotsu" (Japan Sinks) by Sakyo Komatsu. It was meant to be a tongue in cheek satire, and even in the original novel, the title "Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu" , words Nihon and Chinbotsu was printed in a large font and "Igai Zenbu" was printed in a tiny font making sure that people understood the authors intent. When this novel first came out, Frank Sinatra was still alive, and at the opening scene he's the one who's singing in a cabaret in Tokyo. The novel itself wasn't meant to be high quality, and it had no artistic value. They've expanded on the story and made it into a movie.

The original novel wasn't any masterpiece, and the movie couldn't save it from its trashy origin. I'm not sure how Tsutsui himself views this movie as I'm sure he wrote the thing in few hours or at most few days just to muse himself.

Best skip this one and not take it too seriously even if you have the opportunity to see it.

"The World Sinks Except Japan" is set in the near future. It begins with the United States being destroyed by Earthquakes and floods--and millions of refugees pour into Europe, Australia and Asia. Then, one-by-one, the rest of the nations of the world suffer the same fate...except for Japan. As a result, the country is inundated with immigrants--and the Japanese soon get sick of all these poor freeloaders.

After having seen "The World Sinks Except Japan", I think it was a comedy--a parody of sorts. However, I am not really sure. Does it make fun of the old xenophobic Japan of the WWII era or is it really just a nasty xenophobic flick? I am not sure...and that alone make this a movie that isn't super-satisfying. However, whether it's a joke or not, you really can't help but notice that it's incredibly poorly made. Now part of this could be part of some joke (that I didn't at all understand) but seeing incredibly broad overacting, 'American' actors who can barely speak English at all (you'd think they'd hire more real Americans or actors who could at least approximate the language) and some tacky references (such as making Chinese and Korean leaders lapdogs of the Japanese in the movie--pretty tacky when you think about history and the 1930s) all made me just think the film was bad...and a bit dull to boot.

A hilarious film adaptation by Kawasaki Minoru of a parody of the famous 1970s novel Nihon Chinbotsu. Nihon Chinbotsu is the story of the Japanese people losing their homeland and being dispersed throughout the world. Nihon Igai Zenbu Chinbotsu is the opposite: the whole world sinks except Japan. The world's survivors all scramble on the small little archipelago occupied by the xenophobic Japanese. With Team America-like line of characters, all extreme stereotypes of their nation, you can't stop laughing. No one escapes the directors critique, from the traditional Japanese guy (who takes advantage of the situation and eats whale), to the Chinese/Korean leaders who suck up to Japan's Prime Minister, to the American Secretary of Defense who regrets not having started a coup d'etat in Japan, and etcetera.

Of course, the story is just incredible. Of course there are going to be those who are going to criticize this movie saying the science behind the disaster is unrealistic, the economic situation of the foreigners would not happen, and that's fine. People who are going to criticize this movie for reasons like that just don't get that they need to suspend their disbelief when watching comedies like this one who's primary focus is not to tell a believable story but a ridiculously funny one.

Then there may be those who claim this is a nationalistic film, but again, those people are the same people who thought Team America was a nationalistic film. They just didn't get the masochistic humor. This movie is critical of not just its own nationality but even the movie itself ("I don't like Japanese movies, they look so cheap").

Finally, this movie will shock you with a surprisingly funny, yet touching end (well, as touching as a comedy can get). I wouldn't say it's a must watch, but it's a good complement to Nihon Chinbotsu as well as being a good stand alone film as well.

I loved this movie. OBVIOUSLY it's a comedy, a great comedy. In the same vein as Monty Python or South Park, it's a movie that's meant to be offensive to pretty much everyone. Yes, it mocks the ignorance of Americans and how they are overly dependent on our military power. It also mocks China and Korea. But mostly it mocks Japan itself and the systemic xenophobia that still pervades the country to some extent. It's a highly random movie that combines the randomness and political commentary of shows like South Park, but adds the additional unique wackiness of Japanese movies. Also, it looks just as low budget as the Gojira movies of the 60s. Whether intentionally cheap-looking for stylistic reasons or due to low budget(I think this is the case), it adds a lot of laughs, especially when the Statute of Liberty sinks. To people who find this offensive, I can only say that you obviously don't understand satire or sarcasm. Maybe you should spend some more time studying Japanese culture or speaking to Japanese people and get a grasp of their humor. My advice, stop being offended at every little thing, relax, and enjoy a great camp movie. If you can't do that, maybe this movie isn't for you.

I read a brief description of this film and thought it sounded like an excellent premise for a hilarious comedy. Unfortunately, the first time I started watching it I gave up after about ten minutes. After I finally watched the film I wondered I why I'd tortured myself.

The films suffers from four major flaws: 1. Production values are non-existent. 2. It has an awful script without a coherent plot where all the characters are underdeveloped. Instead we get cheap gags that rarely raise a laugh because no empathy has been built up. 3. The Japanese actors are OK, but the foreign actors are awful and barely watchable. 4. The 'social commentary' is largely superficial and even where interesting issues are brought they swiftly disappear and get ignored.

It's a shame the film is so poor. With such an interesting premise a brilliant film could have possibly been made. Instead we get a truly bad film.