Space Battleship Yamato (2010) [Film Review]

Space Battleship Yamato; or, The Stars My Destination

     Even a single gleam in the dark, even the slightest chance… let us use that as a basis for hope!
I have been meaning to watch Space Battleship Yamato for quite some time because I have heard a great deal of positive opinions about the anime from the 1970s which made an enormous impact on the science fiction genre and influenced such franchises as Gundam, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Macross. Well, an opportunity finally came and I sat down to watch the live-action adaptation from 2010 with none other than Takuya Kimura himself in the leading role.

Release Info

Directed by: Takashi Yamazaki Starring: Takuya Kimura, Meisa Kuroki, Tsutomu Yamazaki

Language: Japanese Original Title: 宇宙戦艦ヤマト Runtime: 138 min

Synopsis
It’s the year 2199. Mankind is at war with extraterrestrial beings known as the Gamilas for 5 years now. The aliens continuously bombard the planet with radioactive bombs which render it uninhabitable. Consequently, people have to hide underground. The Yamato, the last interstellar battleship of the Earth’s Defence Forces, sets out on a mission to a distant planet Iscandar in order to obtain a device that will eradicate radioactivity. The ship’s crew is humanity’s last hope against the invaders from outer space.

Trek Wars
At the beginning, allow me to address my initial worries with regard to the film. The movie trailer looked promising, but I was afraid that such kind of production would fall victim to sloppy CGI and unevenly done special effects (like Godzilla movies from the Millennium Series). Thankfully, this is not the case with Space Battleship Yamato. All the space/battle sequences look absolutely spectacular and really stand the test of time. I wish I could have had the ability to see the film in a theater, back in 2010. It is a great viewing experience from the visual standpoint. Allegedly, Takuya Kimura himself put pressure on the director to deliver on this front, and the actor even reduced his working fee just to accommodate the F/X budget. What a guy!

This being said, I can’t help but notice a correlation between Space Battleship Yamato and classic franchise from America, Star Trek. Evidently, the original anime took a lot of cues from the original show devised by Gene Roddenberry, but this movie seems to really evoke the vibes of J.J. Abrams’ reboot from 2009. That is to say, there is a lot of emphasis on bombastic action, character development, and pathos. Sususmu Kodai, the protagonist played by Kimura really resembles young James T. Kirk in terms of bravado and charisma.

With regard to the screenplay, unfortunately, the farther it goes, the worse it gets. While the first two acts heavily rely on Star Trek atmosphere, the third section of the film veers into the territory of Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers (1997), only to end with a finale that could have easily been incorporated into Ronald Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996). In other words, there is a LOT going on in the storyline but the unfolding events are linked with little to no causality.

Speaking about performances, the cast of this film is something really special. Apart from Takyua Kimura, we get Tsutomu Yamazaki, Toshiyuki Nishida, Reiko Takashima, and Toshiro Yanagiba! All of them did really well with the material they had to work with.

Recommendations
If you would like to check out a sci-fi tale straight from Japan, then I recommend Space Battleship Yamato. It is a fun flick driven by visuals but do not expect it to be a comprehensive story. As an anime adaptation, it works really well.Overall score: 7/10

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A Class to Remember (1993) [Film Review]

A Class to Remember; or, The Power of Education

     Classes are sessions that teachers and students cooperate in building. I realize it now. A fine class!

Yoji Yamada is a legendary Japanese director known for helming the famous Tora-san franchise (1969-1995), Free and Easy series (1988-2009), and Gakko (1993-2000). The last one of the three is a set of four movies focusing on education (Gakko meaning literally school). The first film in the series is A Class to Remember from 1993, the movie I have long sought for and finally found it. How Yamada evaluates Japanese schooling in his motion picture? Let’s find out in this review:
Release Info

Directed by: Yoji Yamada Starring: Toshiyuki Nishida, Keiko Takeshita, Kunie Tanaka

Language: Japanese Original Title: 学校 Runtime: 128 min

 

Synopsis

Kuroi (Toshiyuki Nishida) is a teacher at a city night school. Every evening he teaches the basics like reading and writing to his students who differ in age and, for some reason, could not receive conventional education. In a series of flashbacks, we are presented with the progression of each student: Kaji (Masato Hagiwara), Eriko (Yuri Nakae), Midori (Nae Yuki), Chang (Kaei Okina), Shigeru (Senri Oe), Kim Jun-Hes (Eiko Shinya), and Ino (Kunie Tanaka). During their final lesson, Kuroi receives tragic news which he has to share with the class.

 

The Learning Cycle

A Class to Remember immediately startles with its slow, documentary-like pace. It is neither a comedy nor a serious drama. The movie feels like a slice-of-life story, greatly focusing on the advantages of night schooling. Yet, the action of the story does not happen entirely in a classroom. The camera goes outside in order to show the everyday lives of the teacher as well as his students.

 

One would think that Japan does not have problems with education, but Yamada intimately portrays a group of people who, in one way or another, could not attend daily school. We have elderly people who were so busy with hard work that they never learnt to read or write. There are people with traumas and cognitive deficiencies, or even lazy ones. There are also those who were abused by pathological families. All of them attend a night school, which is surprisingly free of charge, in order to learn something in life.

 

Of course, the figure of the teacher is central to the story. Thankfully, Yamada does not go full GTO by turning Kuroi into an unconventional eccentric. Instead, Kuroi is a warm individual who always tries to reach out to his students. He is not able to fix their problems like Onizuka, but he gives a lending hand when a situation requires it. First and foremost, Kuroi is dedicated to teaching and tries to pass his passion for life to his students.

 

With regard to performances, Toshiyuki Nishida did a great job as Kuroi. I have known him mostly from Doctor X series, but now I want to check out his earlier works, especially collabs with Yamada. Keiko Takeshita was also convincing as another school teacher, Tajima. All of the actors who played the students did very well, but the true highlight was the veteran actor Kunie Tanaka as Ino, the elderly student. Oh, and keep your eyes open for Kiyoshi Atsumi's cameo!

 

Recommendations

The end credits state that (as of 1993) approximately 45 junior high night schools function in Japan. The movie got me so interested about the subject that I started to search for more info about the so-called yakan gakko (night schools). I  was unable to find their exact number in 2019, but, allegedly, they function pretty well today, providing education even for non-Japanese students. Summing up, A Class to Remember is a well made and quite touching film. It leaves you thinking afterwards.

Overall score: 9/10

If you would like to read about Japanese night schools, then I recommend these articles I found.