The Great War of Archimedes

This starts with the sinking of the Yamato during WWII. Back in 1933, the heads of the Japanese Navy are gathering to decide on the construction of a new ship. Forward thinking Admirals, Yamamoto and Nagano, foresee the coming obsolescence of the battleship. They are pushing for an aircraft carrier but they are losing out to the old guards who want to build a gigantic battleship. They recruit military-hating obsessive mathematician Tadashi Kai to discredit the low-ball cost estimates of their rivals.

This is a different kind of war story. The start has plenty of CGI action but the bulk of this is about the procurement process. The drama is not particularly high since the general outcome is foretold by history. We know that Japan is building both and many more ships. More importantly, the war is inevitable. One side wants it and the other side expects it. Kai may be naive enough to think he can stop the war but the audience is never fooled. The end does have a few unexpected turns but the final direction remains the same. Also, measuring a battleship with a tape measure is more than silly. The obvious move is to steal or cajole all the costs and blueprints of previous ship constructions. Essentially, they arrive at that same idea eventually. The story does hold one surprise for its climax which I like but the tension is always held back due the overall inevitability.

This movie is an insight into modern Japanese thought and modern Japanese propaganda. It contains ideas and explications about the war of the 1930s and 1940s that put a better face on those disasters, at least for the Japanese viewer. But it does so with a minimum of distortion of the facts, showing respect for a highly literate society. It shows a sophistication that is far above the propaganda that is daily fed to American society.

The blame for getting the country into its impossible situation is deftly removed from the governing personalities of the time and, predictably, the emperor is never mentioned in this war film. It is imperative in Japanese culture that no blame be attributed to him, not even an implicit guilt that could be inferred from its denial.

Mention is made of the mood of the country and the indomitable attitude of the Japanese population, buoyed up as it was at the time by an broken series of successes on the Asian mainland. A grand admiral of the imperial navy grimly allows that the public's enthusiasm cannot be inhibited and that it would inexorably lead to war against the western powers. He points out that Japan is already heavily invested in a war in China. These circumstances, combined with the world's reaction to the aggression in Asia, and Japan's withdrawal from the League of Nations, will force war on the Japanese whether they want it or not.

As an aside, Grand Admiral Yamamoto is credited/blamed for originating the idea of destroying the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.

The story line bases on a plot to sell a plan the government on a plan to build the world's biggest battleship, the Yamato, (a real ship which in fact was built by Japan in the 1930s). There is suspense over the amount of funding this will require and competition for the budget from a faction that wants to build aircraft carriers instead. There is no mention of the violation of treaties in building the over-sized ship.

Enter a handsome, brilliant, young man who will unravel all the plotting with some surprising plot twists along with a slight romantic interest with the daughter of a conniving industrialist. He, Tadashi Kai, (superbly acted by Suda Masaki*) is the vehicle that carries us through the story. He also symbolizes the rebel who takes on the establishment and prevails with his fresh, independent insights. Yet, ingeniously, the establishment itself comes through it without serious damage.

The high-ranking Japanese naval officers are depicted with great dignity and ability, though less honesty, throughout the movie. The story reassures the Japanese audience that Japan's motives in the war were honorable and the disasters largely pressed on the country by outside or otherwise overwhelming forces. Other than that it's a very watchable movie, well done with good acting and a very well written story. There are numerous reasons to watch this excellent movie; I hope I have touched upon the more salient of these.

* These Japanese names are in the Asian order, given name following the family name.

The Great War of Archimedes is Takashi Yamazaki's second stab at similar themes he would later refine further in the glorious Godzilla Minus One, yet he handles said themes in way more cynical approach than what we saw with the big lizard. With The Great War of Archimedes, Yamazaki explores all the political and personal ramifications of building what would become the Yamato would cause Japan, inevitable war. In a way, it feels extremely derivative of Yamazaki's earlier The Eternal Zero, acting as a self-aware commentary on Japan's militarism and contemporary national ethos. Much of the film is a courtroom drama, but Yamazaki does manage to sneak in a lot of fabulously executed action, he's one of the best Japanese filmmakers when it comes to utilising CG to augment his set pieces. Combine this with some stirring performances from its cast and a gorgeous score by Naoki Sato leaves The Great War of Archimedes as another underseen gem in Yamazaki's extensive filmography.

If you are interested in watching this film, I strongly suggest you give a quick read on the general failures of Washington Naval Conference, which sets up the meaning and context of the plot of this film.

Essentially the Washington Naval conference plus London naval conference, like most arms control treaties, addressed and limited the instruments of the PRIOR war in an attempt to forestall future wars. In the case of the 1920's WNC, it effectively limited the number of battleships and other large naval gunfire platforms such as battle/heavy a nation could have. The logic was that since these were main instrumentalities in WWI, and the metric of a nations overall industrial power, that limiting them would prevent war. Hence the "Archimedes" in the title. As you will recall from physics class, the ancient Greek scientist is the one who shouted "eureka" when understanding that as he went into a tub of bathwater that his body was displacing an equal weight of water. This goes to the metric controlled by WNC /LNC-- the weight displaced by warships.

There are two things in the background in this film: a) the systematic cheating on the metrics by Japan, and b) supposed divisions within the Imperial Japanese Navy as to how to allocate its allowed tonnage of displacement. There is a problem in the latter, because this film repeats debunked revisionist claims that the resistance to build battleships like Yamato was significant. It was not. Theses supposedly prescient cadre of young officers who wanted to build more carriers than Japan had built simply did not exist. And the problem Japan had with aviation in WWII was not carriers or airbases -- it was a total inability to replace their aviators due to something that had nothing to do with military industrial capacity . To wit Japan's severely lacking higher education system which is needed from which to select potential air crews. Japan was not able to crew even its land based aircraft being produced even during the war.

"The Great War of Archimedes" (2019) offers a captivating journey into naval politics and wartime calculations. Though visually impressive, the film's 2+ hour runtime can feel bloated at times, with repetitive sequences and drawn-out dialogues. While the central plot about a math prodigy uncovering corruption is intriguing, the pacing hinders its full impact.

Despite these shortcomings, the film's strength lies in its engaging characters and the compelling moral dilemma presented. Suda Masaki delivers a nuanced performance as the conflicted math whiz, while the supporting cast adds depth and intrigue. The film successfully portrays the complexities of war and the sacrifices demanded from individuals caught in its midst.

Overall, "The Great War of Archimedes" is a worthwhile watch for those interested in historical dramas and intricate plotlines. However, viewers seeking a fast-paced experience might find it a bit long-winded.

Rating: 7/10.