1945: End of War

Interesting movie, with a new perspective on the war. Decent acting all around, and at least the American actors (led by Baldwin) weren't people they grabbed off the street, which is typical with Asian movies starring "white" people.

I do have to take issue with one of the reviewers, though, who seems clueless about the movie's pedigree.

@Shin Obi, This is not a "Hollywood" movie, genius. This was a Japanese movie. Japanese made. Japanese produced. Japanese directed. And shown almost exclusively in Japan. The fact that you seem to think it's some kind of "American propaganda" only means it treated the story FAIRLY, but for you, that only meant it was unreasonable. That says more about you than the movie, to be honest.

I saw the words "refreshing", "Japanese perspective" and "realistic" in the previous review which is UTTER tosh. Where does this guy get off telling such lies? There must be an American media machine feeding these lines to try sell this typical American self righteous arrogant movie, because so many have been made, I guess they are trying a new selling angle to make more money.

The acting is Awful, believe me, its some of the worst you will ever see, a knife wound results in instant death, an explosion forces everyone to lie flat facedown in a perfect 20m radius. There are 2 emotions in this film, and you will be hard pressed to recognise either of them.

The script is soooo cheesy, I think Disney would blush. The lines seem to specifically say "We Americans were so kind to the Japanese while we were killing them, we couldn't have torture bases in Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, Baghram Airbase etc etc" Move on people, nothing to see here you haven't already seen 10 times 10 years ago.

Whilst I appreciate this is a Japanese production I was uncomfortable with the sanitised nature which try's to clean up and almost justify the Japanese position which is unjustifiable. Given the cowardly attack on Pearl Harbour, the brutal inhuman treatment of allied soldiers which didn't conform to the Geneva convention and the lunacy of kamikaze and hara-kiri I found it impossible to find any empathy for them. We are still awaiting an apology eighty years later!

This is a film which tries to find balance between both stories, Japanese and American. It shows the brutality of war, and that there is good and bad on both sides. The film strives to portray the story of a man, Captain Sakae Oba, caught between honour and reason and his battle to find a course which satisfies both.

The film is superbly shot, especially the wide-angle panoramas and action. As with most movies the guns fire with too much flame, the explosions are too small to be accurate, and people die too easily and without the screams and gore that accompanies true war. If it's action you seek, then another movie would probably suit you better.

If you are an intelligent unbiased person who wishes to know about one of the more surprising stories of the Pacific war, then this film is a must. It glosses over some of the more salient points of the real story of Oba and his actions, such as time frame, but is a good account of the framework.

On the whole it is a very good watch, and a fine film.

Excellent drama about honor, loyalty and humanity which is in conflict with the sense for duty... Very good acting,moderate action scenes performed very well and enogh drama twists to keep you going. USA is not saving the world again so it is really worth of your time.