North Korea has once again stunned the world in their use of retro technology. Recently put out to sea, this Soviet Era Golf Class Diesel that was originally built in 1958 then later taken apart then reverse engineered and further re-dubbed by the North Korean Navy as Romeo Class is out on the prowl. While this reverse engineered throwback to the Dr. Strangelove Era has yet to be outfitted with ballistic missiles, it still retains its original torpedo launch capability which according to the South Korean Government is believed to have fired a torpedo at a South Korean vessel in the Yellow Sea March of 2010 which resulted in the South Korean vessel sinking. While being a maritime menace to South Korean vessels we don't believe Japan's JMSDF or the U.S. Navy will be shaking in their boots any time soon. Nice Try Baby Kim! Go home, you're drunk! ばか!
Normally, we don't judge a movie before we see it in it's entirety, but after seeing the trailer for the new Keanu Reeves-Hiroyuki Sanada collaboration titled "47 Ronin" we were outraged enough to make an exception. Seriously! Do these studio executives and their focus groups (comprised of mostly unemployed background extras) even know the story of the time honored tale of the revered Ako Ronin and their famous vendetta? Do they even care about Japanese history? For reals! What the fuck does flying dragons, Kung Fu, and Gaijin have to do with avenging the forced seppuku of Ako Lord Asano Naganori for assaulting Lord Kira in Edo Castle? NOTHING! ばか!
As an affectionado and Japanese history buff, I ask why take an awesome time honored true story of Japanese History of some of the most legendary Samurai of the Edo Period and add a bunch of fantasy bullshit to sell a story? Worse, your lead actor isn't even Japanese! It was one thing when they cast Ziyi Yang in Memoir's of a Geisha (because they say here in America we're not racist to exclude other actors and then you see our politics - right!) but this is going too far. That same tired argument of race has been used to justify casting decisions doesn't fly with me. Sure, John Wayne might have been a good cowboy actor for Westerns but did he not suck as Mongol Warlord Genghis Khan? He was the worst! "Well if the Kublai Khan don't like it he can just move the hell out Pilgrim?" For real? Are you fucking kidding me? This is why that tired racial argument in casting period pieces does not fly. "Oh but this is an action/adventure fantasy film!" Really? Then why dishonor the memory of the 47 Ako Samurai or involve them in the first place? Seriously!
While we love Sanada Hiroyuki in Twilight Samurai and The Last Samurai (ok that was a stretch but he was still believable in that one), we have to ask how can he sell out his own history for a paycheck? Please tell me he had some objection to the title or the ridiculous premise. His reputation is on the line and we'd love an explanation. We love historical fiction when they get it right. But as you can see from the trailer this is as much as a historical travesty as adding Apache Attack Helicopters to the tale of George Washington crossing the Delaware River. And if you're in Japan reading this do know that there are Americans who do care and will not settle for some Hollywood big budget special effects driven bastardization of Japanese history. And while there are some people including some actors out there trying to make a living in Hollywood saying, "whoa Mishima relax, it's just a movie." Yeah? Then please go to the Sengaku-ji Temple in Japan and explain it to the 47 souls who weep from heaven. But don't take our word for it. Watch the trailer, leave your fact checker behind, and see it for yourself!
Don't you love it when Hollywood gets it wrong? Sometimes we do, but other times there's just no excuse. We've covered a lot of movies here about World War II. Mostly from Japan where most are good, some not so good and always with a limited budget. But when Hollywood gets a film, their budgets run circles around Japanese film makers. So what am I bitching about? This photo seen here! In 2001's Pearl Harbor, Michael Bay had a budget of $140 Million Dollars. While some will argue whether the film was good or not and other will point out minor errors, yet no one has complained about the shot of the Imperial Japanese Fleet UNTIL NOW. With all the great CGI effects in this film you would think they would spend the money to get this one important shot right. Right? Oh who the fuck cares! This is America! No red blooded American still bitter about the Bombing of Pearl Harbor is going to care about the Japanese right? ちょっとちょっとまってください! To tell the truth, YES! Actually, you do not have to be a Japanophile or Nisei to appreciate accurate depictions of historical events in films depicting the Japanese.
If I were ordering shots like I would a hamburger, I'd have to say extra accuracy, hold the bitterness. You can't talk about Pearl Harbor in this country without someone throwing ancient rancor at you. As we have stated many times, we're not here to refight WWII. We're here to call things as we see them. As you can see from this actual photo of the IJN Carrier Kaga (that participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor) you can see from it's profile a small island tower and smoke stacks pointing downward. Now Compare to the top photo where you see a composite of a modern day US Navy Nimitz Class Carriers and Aegis Class Frigates. You think no one would notice? We sure did. While Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor has numerous historical goofs such as the painting of Zeros green which they did not do until 1943, this carelessness or lack of credit given to an informed audience just gets under my skin. You would think after all those great CGI shots of the Oklahoma and Arizona they could have taken the time out to get the Imperial Japanese Fleet right? Or did they just thought we wouldn't care? With their budget there was just no excuse. And while we'd like to debate Mako's portrayal Admiral Yamamoto, we'll leave that one for the real historians. While we found the movie somewhat entertaining, however these errors in depicting the Japanese fleet sink this film for us.
“American Mishima” is the work of Louis Rosas, the son of Mexican Immigrants, whose father served in Vietnam for the US Army and who grew up on glamorized war films and military aviation in the sleepy seaside plains of Oxnard, Calif. With an early fascination of the Second World War embedded in his young mind during the post-Vietnam era, it was his exposure to Akira Kurosawa's samurai epic Ran (Toho, 1985) that changed his views of war while creating a lasting impression of Japanese culture and history. Further inspired by the works of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, Rosas would go on to study Japanese language and swordsmanship, which led him to the practice of Shingon Buddhism and Shinto. Rosas is also a former student of Shinkendo, the ideal and practice of the samurai code of Bushido in the modern world, which helped shape the creative force that is “American Mishima.”
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