I tre da Ashiya

It is said, during the worse disasters, we see ordinary people, exhibiting extraordinary heroics. Basically that's the core of this film entitled " Flight From Ashiya. " The men of the Air Rescue Service are given a ceremonial tribute and for the most part it's about them. Three men and their lives are personified each offering a segway into their background. The first is Glenn Stevenson (Richard Widmark) the experienced commander who's lingering demons are a deep reminder that his personal bigotry is not only a hindrance to his job, but is itself more of a danger than the black ocean he willingly faces. Next is his second in command, Lt. John Gregg (George Chakiris) who's memories of a mountain accident have become a major obstacle to his courage. Fearing he caused the death of stranded villagers, he doubts he will ever overcome it. The last member of the crew is Tsgt. Mike Takashima. (Yul Brynner) Reaching into his past, he recalls vividly a tragic accident in which a lost love reminds him of his shortcomings and vulnerability. Together the crew receives a summons to fly into raging Pacific storm at night to risk life and limb and rescue a raft load of Japanese survivors on the verge of drowning. The film is a stark reminder of what these courageous men face in their tireless efforts to save lives. Excellent acting from Widmark, Brynner and Chakiris make this a worthy tribute to the profession. Unfortunately the clumsy use of miniatures and models diminishes the visual power of this fine movie. Nevertheless, actual locations and backdrops add to the touching story and contribute to it's success. ****

In Flight from Ashiya, Richard Widmark, Yul Brynner, and George Chakiris are search and rescue pilots. It's a tough business, one that requires compassion, courage, and logic. Sometimes, not everyone in need gets rescued because there's limited room in the planes. Dick is supposed to be the hardened villain, and we're supposed to be on George's side. But anyone who knows anything about their profession will take Dick's side! They're a search and rescue crew; not guardian angels. By definition, they have to search and rescue those they can. They can't save everyone, and some people will be left behind to die. Yet George gets tears in his eyes and calls Dick and unfeeling monster. It's pretty unfair.

And, as we learn through flashbacks, Dick has had his fair share of heartache in his past to help harden his heart. He fell in love with beautiful, sweet Shirley Knight; but since he's got "pain" written all over his forehead, we can guess it didn't last. Details will be revealed in their own time, and Dick gets a nice big weeping scene out of it. How often does he get to do that?

No matter your type, ladies, you'll get to have some eye candy during this movie. Three tough guys with soft spots in their hearts are pretty irresistible to a female audience. While they each have their distinct roles (Dick is the uncompassionate veteran, George is new and too soft), Yul is the only one with an active love interest with Suzy Parker. We can all hope that he makes it safely back from his missions and into Suzy's loving arms. She didn't make many movies, so it's always a treat to see her.

If you want to see this film it helps being not too attentive. This film has a nice surface which promises an entertaining, adventurous film but unfortunately "Flight from Ashiya" instead is full of clichés, stereotypical characters and of often unintentionally funny story lines. "Highlight" is the story of Yul Brynner which takes part in Africa and which involves a super-exotic woman and a doll's house's Africa. The end of this part of the film is ridiculous and at the same time disgusting and a perfect example of the exploitation of a character for a very cheap effect. The most funny is the pathetic narrative voice-over commentary which claims that everything in this film really happened - which indeed would surprise me... All in all "Flight from Ashiya" unfortunately is a perfect argument for all the people who despises classic Hollywood films for being stereotypical and false, which this film surely is.

I was surprised to find so few and low rated reviews on this deeply compassionate film about World War II veterans who chose to continue risking their lives by saving lives of others. George Chakiris, Richard Widmark and Yul Brynner have each one their own story to tell of profound human interest, Chakiris battling with a constantly bad conscience for having failed in one rescue emergency operation during the war, Widmark constantly battling with his hatred of the Japanese because of what they did during the war with his love Shirley Knight as a casualty, and Yul Brynner, part Japanese, part Polish, recalling his crushing love affair in Tunisia with a moslem girl he wanted to marry. It's a great film for its very realistic pathos offering an alternative solution to the most common war trauma: not to be able to stop fighting, and usually resorting to drinking or drugs for a bad recompense; but these men channelled their persisting war energy into an Air Rescue Service, battling their guilt complexes and insufficiency traumas by saving and rescuing lives in desperate need. Most of the film is flashbacks from the war, but the situation is of timeless and universal interest.

This is, despite a fairly epic attempt at storytelling and a heavyweight cast, a snoozefest. The pacing is very dry and ultimately predictable and the storyline is trite, contrived and pat. Widmark, Chakiris and Brynner are on a rescue mission and as their plane approaches it's destination, each of them has a flashback to another dramatic time for them. Chakiris' is the most believable as he recalls a tragic rescue attempt of some villagers caught in an icy mountain range. Widmark recalls meeting a photojournalist (Knight) and falling in love against a war-torn backdrop. Brynner remembers meeting a foreign girl (Gaubert) who he can only communicate with visually since they don't speak each others' language. Parker gets the film's most pointless & thankless role as a woman who pines for Brynner back at the base. The film ranges from stodgy to overwrought with many unintentionally amusing moments and some really ripe dialogue. Made at a time when studios were still getting used to a little more freedom with immorality, it wants desperately to be cutting edge and racy, yet is hopelessly old-fashioned and silly. There is NO attempt at period flavor. Knight's story is set in 1941, yet her hair and clothing are early sixties (she even wears a skirt almost identical to Parker's, whose story takes place in 1964!) Her awesome mane of hair could easily have been styled into a neato '40's 'do, but alas, no one did. Widmark and Knight's story tries to cram a two-hour-movie's worth of clichés and dramatics into about 20 minutes. They literally fall hopelessly in love after one plane ride! The same can be said of Brynner's affair. He gives his seat to a girl on a bus and then can't live without her. This whole section of the film is ludicrous, but Gaubert is quite lovely. The ending of this sequence is surreal and jaw-dropping! It must be seen to be believed and is almost worth sitting through the film for. There are worse ways to spend two hours, but this is hardly rewarding entertainment. There is also a hilarious before and after narration by a man who sounds like he did voice-over for army recruitment shorts.