Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2011

Taiheiyo no Kiseki: Fokussu to Yobareta Otoko: (c)2011「太平洋の奇跡」製作委員会

Taiheiyo no Kiseki is one of those movies whose source material is more interesting than the finished product. Based on Don Jones’ 1986 nonfiction book Oba, the Last Samurai: Saipan 1944-45, the film depicts a battle-decimated group of Japanese soldiers on Saipan. Instead of surrendering to the overwhelming force of the Americans, a few dozen of the warriors hid out on the island’s only mountain and used guerrilla tactics to survive. They were led by Captain Sakae Oba (Yutaka Takenouchi), whose clever strategies kept his men from capture and earned him the moniker The Fox. The flick, shot in Thailand, used two separate crews for the Japanese and American scenes. Which is fine, except that the end product comes across as preachy to the point of condescension, and indulges in considerable hero worship. One laudable aspect of the production is that we get to see the excellent Mao Inoue (Darin wa Gaikokujin) drop her usually cheery persona and show some intensity as a gritty civilian who has survived a grenade attack that killed her entire family. English title: Oba: The Last Samurai. (128 min)