Ashita e no yuigon

I watched this film - aka "Best Wishes For Tomorrow" at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. It was not what I'd expected. I thought it would be like Hart's War or A Few Good Men, but this film is an entirely different kettle of fish. It's a very reflective tale in which there are no heroics or melodrama. The story cuts between scenes from within the courtroom and scenes of Mr Okada in prison, rallying around the morale of his subordinates. The acting was first rate. I've always been a fan of Robert Lesser and Aoi 'Hula Girls' Yu. I especially liked Featherstone's defense team - Jon Mitchell was great as the assistant to the good doctor, and the Japanese co-star's English was impeccable.. The music score was wonderful and brought me to the brink of tears on a couple of occasions. Overall, this movie reminded me of a time when we as Americans could be proud in our legal system. Something which is sadly not true today.