The Days (2023) [Drama Review]

The Days; or, Anatomy of a Disaster
     March 11th, 2011. What happened in those days after that fateful date?
Japanese filmmakers are not backing down when it comes to creating international content for the Netflix platform. This year saw the release of The Days, the drama that serves as yet another retelling of the Fukushima Daiichi incident after the Fukushima 50 movie which was made just three years ago.

Release Info

Developed by: Jun Masumoto Starring: Koji Yakusho, Yutaka Takenouchi, Fumiyo Kohinata

Language: Japanese Original Title: THE DAYS No. of eps.: 8

Synopsis
On the 11th of March, 2011, the Tohoku earthquake suddenly occurred which led to the emergency shutdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. Afterwards, a massive tsunami generated by the earthquake hits the shoreline and cuts off auxiliary power in the station. The crew is unable to monitor the reactors which are getting out of control. The station manager Masao Yoshida (Koji Yakusho) and his men do everything they can to prevent a nationwide disaster.

Boiling Point
The 8-episode drama, similarly as the feature film, was inspired by Ryūshō Kadota's book - On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi, but it also used official reports and Masao Yoshida's testimony as the source materials.

Well, if you have seen the aforementioned feature film, then you basically know the core of the story and you may even spot similar moments in both dramatisations of the event. The main difference is that Fuksuhima 50 rushes at breakneck pace to summarise everything within the two-hour runtime, whereas the drama takes the whole affair very slowly and lays out everything for you, step by step, point by point throughout eight episodes.

If you want to get to know what exactly happened at the power plant in detail, then watching the drama is the best option. Obviously, the character of Masao Yoshida is the main protagonist, but the show also provides a variety of different perspectives from other active players of the event, such as the control room operators, distraught family members, TOEPCO officials, and the Prime Minister of Japan.

I am also very surprised that the drama was shot on location in the Fukushima prefecture, which adds an additional layer of credibility. Evidently, the power plant itself does not look as it did back in 2011, so a lot of CGI compositing must have been done in the post-production process of the episodes. All in all, the nature/disaster sequences were done really well.

With regard to performances, evidently Koji Yakusho carries the emotional weight of the drama on his shoulders, and his portrayal of the station manager is more convincing than that of Ken Watanbe’s in the 2020 film. Words of additional praise also go to the legendary Fumiyo Kohinata for playing the distressed character of the Prime Minister. What is more, Ken Mitsuishi also has a memorable part as the TOEPCO’s deputy manager. Yutaka Takenouchi was also awesome as the control room team leader. You can also spot many great performers in the supporting roles, such as Kaoru Kobayashi, Kenichi Endo, and Yuriko Ishida.

Recommendations
All things considered, The Days is an extremely insightful examination of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. My only (nitpicky) complaint is the generic title that always makes me think of Yurie Kokubu’s Counting Down the Days song. Apart from that, The Days functions as a decent stylistic companion piece to HBO’s Chernobyl (2019). Big thanks to @SumiTheCat for recommending the drama on MDL. If you’re interested, you can check out her review here.
Overall score: 9/10

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Fukushima 50 (2020) [Film Review]

Fukushima 50; or, When Disaster Strikes
     We believed we controlled nature. It was human ego.
Exactly 9 years after the disastrous Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Fukushima 50 is the first live-action motion picture which retells the tragic events that ensued in Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Directed by Setsuro Wakamatsu, and inspired by the non-fiction novel On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi by Ryusho Kadota, the film is both a poignant drama as well as faithful retelling of the latest nuclear disaster in our history.

General Info

Directed by: Setsuro Wakamatsu Starring: Koichi Sato, Ken Watanabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka

Language: Japanese Original Title: フクシマフィフティ Runtime: 120 min

Synopsis
March 11, 2011. The Tohoku earthquake generates a massive tsunami which is supposed to hit the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. The authorities are confident that nothing bad will happen because the plant is well-prepared for such emergencies. However, the tsunami is much bigger than it was estimated. It hits the plant and cuts off the electrical power. Workers at the plant led by the site superintendent, Masao Yoshida (Ken Watanabe), and the shift supervisor, Toshio Isaki (Koichi Sato), do everything they can in order to prevent a nuclear meltdown. Meanwhile, residents living within a 20km radius of the power plant are being evacuated.

Desperate Measures
I vividly remember the day when I got back from high school, turned on TV and saw dramatic news reports from Japan about the Tohoku earthquake. However, the news about Fukushima started coming in a few days later. Unable to gather what exactly happened there just from the mainstream media, I turned to documentaries, but still found it very hard to understand the complexities which led to level 7 meltdowns in three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi. Thankfully, the movie (similarly to other biopics about popular disasters like the Charnobyl (2019) miniseries or Deep Water Horizon (2016)) lays out everything in a clear, step-by-step fashion.

Evidently, the story of Fukushima 50 is the story about brave workers at the plant who did not abandon their posts and did everything they could to prevent the contamination of half of Japanese soil. Additionally, the movie focuses on profit-oriented executives completely oblivious to the situation at Fukushima, and on the families living in the plant’s vicinity forced to abandon their homes. Some could think that the inclusion of so many characters, apart from the plant workers, is unnecessary, but the story of Fukushima is theirs story as well.

Watching the film is certainly a powerful experience because it is a dramatisation of real-life events. With regard as to how the filmmakers handled and presented this sensitive topic which is still fresh in Japanese hearts, I dare to say that the film communicates the anti-nuclear message much better than the fictional Pandora film from 2016.

With regard to performances, both Koichi Sato and Ken Watanabe are a class act. I also appreciated the supporting parts of such well-known actors and actresses as Hidetaka Yoshioka, Narumi Yasuda, Yasuko Tomita, Shiro Sano, Masane Tsukayama, and Dankan.

Recommendations
If you want to know more about the history behind Fukushima Daiichi, then I recommend Setsuro Wakamatsu’s Fukushima 50. Indeed, it is a well-made film that will provide you with valuable pieces of information and subsequent food for thought. I sincerely hope that international communities will learn from Fukushima’s tragedy and implement necessary safety precautions at power plants.
Overall score: 8/10

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