The Days

So I remember watching this on the news and an element of worry surrounding the events but not in my wilderst dreams did I understand the severity of the situation. The series captures the days following the earthquake and tsunami in fukushima with regards the impending nuclear disaster. This is done in almost an hour by hour fashion adding to the suspense and breaking out the complexities surrounding the issues at hand. And how it turns ordinary power station workers into potential and actual heroes with a real sense of duty and honour in the most japanese of ways. The understated acting and what some people here are alluding to as 'wooden' is just the japanese cultural aspect of the series - the opposite of the american over the top drama we are used to seeing in HBO series but powerful and evocative all the same. The tension and the absolute gut wrenching nature of this disaster is more than conveyed and I was left thinking of it for long after I saw it. A cautionary tale brilliantly told. Go and watch this and try not to expect an american thriller and you won't be dissapointed.

I was fascinated with the idea of a view of the Fukushima nuclear disaster from the Japanese point of view. The event is presented from the views of the nuclear plant operators, management, the federal government and various agencies. Individual characters have some development, and you can see what they may have experienced. Unfortunately, each episode developed very slowly, and it was obvious to me that there wasn't enough material to really flesh-out 8 episodes. It's a shame because this was a monumental event in modern Japanese history. After three episodes, we started fast-forwarding and finally gave up in the fifth episode. Loved HBO's Chernobyl by contrast and I could see there is opportunity for a worthy dramatization of this disaster. I have seen documentaries, and it should be noted that this is still unfolding, and the environmental damage is on-going.

I was drawn into the seriousness of the situation that the series present. Many people say it is too long and boring, but for me, if you look to see what really happened on that day and see it from the eyes of those who had to deal with the situation, it is absolutely worth watching. I don't feel that the characters are wooden, it's just the way Japanese people are when they have to deal with such urgency. They obey the commands promptly. I think the cast did great job.

By the way, you don't have to watch the series all at once. So it's not going to be too long if you are interested to know the detail of what happened. For me, the series blew me away. I didn't even know that such an event happened and so many people had to come together to stop it from escalating to the worst. It's an interesting true story that we can learn from.

If you are expecting a Japanese Chernobyl then this may not be for you. This is a much slower more considered portrayal of a nuclear accident which could have been 100 times worse than Chernobyl. Layered and highly observational The Days is just as much about Japanese hierarchy and customer than the disaster itself. Personally I felt watching in Japanese with subtitles was much better than the terrible dubbed english. The quality of the Japanese cast comes through in the original language. A salutary lesson in how corporate greed and arrogance can be completely and literally overcome by the power of nature. Koji Yakusho is stand-out as station manager Masao Yoshida. Settle down and immerse yourself in this high quality drama that will stay with you long after viewing.

There are many good moments in this series, capturing the panic, sacrifices and deliberations that followed the Fukushima disaster. The heroic actions of the team is in plain view, along with the emotional impact on each character.

But that's also part of the problem. By episode six, I was becoming distracted because it seemed that every conversation, every event, every calamity is burdened by long periods of the characters thinking and ruminating.

I see the point of depicting the life or death decisions resulting in an almost shock but the overuse of silences becomes an irritant.

Otherwise, worth a look.