Eien No Zero

Japanese Dark Blue World that after outstanding (refreshingly subversive, anti-war and human) first half turns into the nationalist melodrama that in a bombastic way celebrates the true old-fashioned Japanese values. Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if it weren't multiplied ad absurdum by a cheap appealing line from the present (the pre-final scene of the flight is an absolute evil because it is too obvious), that come from nowhere and goes nowhere through a storyline where it's clear from the start what and to whom it is all progressing, and at the same time this line has even incomprehensibly more space than the disproportionately more interesting World War II scenes. (2015.01.03)

After watching it, I don't understand why the film has been so vilified for being propaganda and praising war and the special forces (known in the West as kamikazes). It doesn't come across that way at all. Quite the opposite. The weakest storyline is that of Haruma: once he's on set with someone more experienced, like Fukishi Kazuya, he's good; but once he has to pull it off on his own, things get a bit stilted. On the other hand, all the scenes from the past and all the actors who were in them were excellent. The film brought me to tears a few times, but lately anything can... Definitely worth a viewing; don't be swayed by other people’s opinions of it, make your own. It’s not propaganda or a denial of the hardships of WW2; but, of course, that's just my point of view. Okada Jun'ichi was excellent; I don't even want to believe there's anything like that in him. Basically, I can only praise the film now, except for the slightly long running time. It's not terrible, but for anyone who's used to watching mostly just series with a maximum length of an hour per episode, there are parts where you need to stop and take a "commercial break" every now and then. The only thing I would rate negatively is the bridge scene with Haruma at the very end. That was truly awful. But otherwise it's a very above average film, both from a narrative and technical point of view (although the special effects are a bit weak in a few scenes), definitely well crafted and handled. I wouldn't mind giving it another go in the future – if only for Okada, Sometani, and Inoue Mao. (2014.10.23)

A strong patriotic film that tries a little to deceive with its story being quite emotional and additionally told in flashbacks, which ultimately leads to the expectation of a truly powerful outcome, but in the end it comes across as very, very pathetically. However, there are definitely good moments and overall the film is well directed, some aerial scenes might surprise. (2015.09.11)