Rengô kantai shirei chôkan: Yamamoto Isoroku

A somewhat interesting film about the legendary World War II commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy. However, there was a lingering aftertaste of imperialist nostalgia and aspirations in the film. Big budget drama with lots of court intrigues & a bit of decent CGI of aerial battles between Zeros and Mustangs, Pearl Harbor, etc. Not poorly-made but presents a sanitized, sentimental depiction of Japanese naval brass -- their 'patriotism' and professionalism are depicted as far distinct from the ideological fanatics in I.J. Army. The film tries hard to seem anti-war with captains & officers reminiscing about eggplant rice-pot and sweet dumplings, dreaming of civilian life when they picked on smaller nations & weren't fighting the epic battles vs. the US. However, criticism of the war is somewhat restricted to the detached domestic pro-war mood, the "Bushido dishonor" of the Pearl Harbor ambush and the indiscreet alliance with Germany, no mention can be found of violence vs. civilian victims of Japanese imperialism in Asia. This is a huge sin of omission when honest students of history acknowledge an estimated 10+ million civilian lives claimed by IJA/IJN war crimes, including genocide, in pursuit of expansionist attempts to conquer the region. Lesson learned is that the Japanese fought gloriously for their nation even when this demanded loyalty to the militarist cause. This seems insidious as modern Japan under Nippon Kaigi nationalist leadership shifts toward revanchism and historical revisionism while the executive considers making the maintenance of an air force, navy, and standing army "constitutional" through the junking of Constitution Article 9.

For a home-grown Japanese war movie, Yamamoto Isoroku (2011) is perhaps the most neutral, and historically accurate of Japanese movies. For once, it actually contains few historical biases, and portrays both the social and historical impacts in the way the Japan turned to the decision to wage war.

Though subtle, the movie makes reference to the Boshin War, a civil war in Japan that greatly divided the big families into two main camps: pro-Shogun and pro-Emperor between 1868-1869. Yamamoto belonging to the Nagato clan, clear rivalries exist and continued into early WWII.

Civilian life, while fairly quickly glossed over, shows the impact and the growth of patriotic nationalism, and politically motivated newspapers that ride on the wave of popularity. It is only when the war begins to turn for the bad (post 1944) does the public begin to realize the impact of the war, and how bad it is going for them - the war in Manchuria being a far away war that many do not feel the impact.

If anything, the movie tries to steer away from the typical politically "expected", and while it is rather muted, aims to show the person whom Yamamoto was, rather than describe the war itself.

I think if you want a politically motivated movie of self- flagellation, there are other non-Japanese movies out there that will conform to pre-made opinions (such as a - but if you're looking for a biography in rather muted and neutral terms that simply show the perspective of how things were, then this movie is surprisingly very good, and well deserving a watch.

Director Narushima aims high with this war biopic on famous Commander-in-chief, Yamamoto. While lengthy in its running time, its often slow-burning pace seems to add to that, although not particularly in a negative sense.

The Admiral is a pretty damn good film, and in terms of war movies based around Pearl harbour, is perhaps one of the more historically accurate, as well as neutral with very few biased views. Produced by Japanese movie studio legends, Toei - the film is pretty epic in story offering plenty of drama, with some nice CGI inspired dog-fights and naval action.

The story was created based on the long-lost diaries of Yamamoto himself, written between 1939 and 1941. Star Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins; Memoirs Of A Geisha) delivers a great performance as Yamamoto, with the rest of the cast impressing just as much. While not the kind of film I will be popping on again anytime soon, I was highly impressed with the overall production, and did find it to be an interesting watch.

It's certainly less cheesy than Michael Bay's 'Pearl Harbour' and definitely interesting to see such an event from the other side - and learning what caused Japan to take the steps it did in the war.

Overall: An impressive movie, The Admiral is worth the watch!