The Highest Honor

I enjoyed this movie very much. The acting was realistic and the costumes and firearms were spot on. The real story was whitewashed some as I guess not to make the Japanese appear too brutal; when in fact they were. The prisoners were tortured and not given special rashions. It was a kangaroo court that convicted them and sentenced them to death by beheading. The beheadings apparently were not done with precision and some required several blows to complete the task. Overall a very good true story with some embelishments but interesting to watch. I think the relationship with the prisoners and the Japanese captors was a bit much as they were not treated well at all. Very brave men.

It's been so long since I've seen this movie (at least 15 years) and yet it still haunts me with a vivid image of the horrific consequences that prisoners of war can face despite the terms of the Geneva Convention.

A unit of Australian underwater demolitions experts are captured in an archipelago near Japan following a successful mission to set mines in a Japanese harbor.

Once in prison these men expect the same treatment as any other POWs but to their dismay soon learn from a friendly Japanese prison guard that they are being tried as spies since they were out of uniform when captured. The consequences of such an infraction, by Japanese martial code, is execution by beheading.

Despite their pleas, and the pleas of the sympathetic prison guard, the day of reckoning approaches like a ticking time bomb. The tension is so high you will actually hear the ticking, though it may just be your chest pounding with the percussion of a marching execution squad.

The ending is actually too painful to reenact in my head much less write it here. But I can promise you-- you'll never forget it. Good luck finding the video in the U.S.

This movie is a true reflection of the Australian resourcefulness that has been required to make this country what it is over the last 200 years. Not pompous like the British, not Gung-Ho like the Americans. If either of those countries had attempted what this crew did, it would have failed dismally. Either due to ignorance on the British part, or too much faith in superior firepower on the American side. "True" Australians (i.e. non-imports) are the only ones who can excel in modern military conflicts because they have had to improvise most of their adult lives. Just look at examples like Gallipoli; Paschendale; Tobruk; New Guinea and Vietnam.

Thumbs up, I say. I don't generally enjoy war movies because they can depict graphical violence. Here I am talking about movies such as Thin Red Line®, Saving Private Ryan® and the like. This movie is quite different. It includes some mild fighting and the sinking of a few ships, (oops, did I say it was mild?) but I do recommend this movie because it deals with the meaning of war. You don't see often see handshakes between enemies. In this movie, you will.

I was overtaken by the emotion. Unforgettable rendering of a wartime story which is unknown to most people. The performances were faultless and outstanding.