A moving and quite different disaster movie. It gives us sadness, stoicism, everyday solidarity and love of place where an American film would serve up a roller coaster of forgettable adrenalin-sodden individual heroics.
The science is credible, the special effects (at least on my grainy streamed version) convincing and believable, and the reactions of the Japanese people are portrayed with a realism rare in a disaster movie.
There's one moment where a trite pop song sabotages a touching farewell, which in itself is an eminently Japanese touch, and the last minute or so strain credulity. But other than that it's emotionally consistent and quietly powerful. As a film, 7/10 - it's no Citizen Kane. As a disaster film, 11/10: it injects a rare degree of intelligence and nobility into a pretty debased genre.
The science is credible, the special effects (at least on my grainy streamed version) convincing and believable, and the reactions of the Japanese people are portrayed with a realism rare in a disaster movie.
There's one moment where a trite pop song sabotages a touching farewell, which in itself is an eminently Japanese touch, and the last minute or so strain credulity. But other than that it's emotionally consistent and quietly powerful. As a film, 7/10 - it's no Citizen Kane. As a disaster film, 11/10: it injects a rare degree of intelligence and nobility into a pretty debased genre.