Godzilla Minus One
by Cranky Curmudgeon, aka Mildred
Everything about this film is weird. The title doesn’t really make sense until you google to discover it’s referring to the very low point in Japanese history at the beginning of the movie. It’s a Japanese language movie without any Caucasian actors at all and subtitled in the theater. With unusually accurate historical detail we see a weird looking Japanese airplane called “Magnificent Lightning”. There is a powerful character story without a real need for the monster to make it a great film. The monster, while not truly needed, would make a great film without the character story. The best thing is, even without enjoying the weird aspects that set it well apart from the multitude of super hero and monster movies, there are plenty of other reasons to love this film.
Set in the same time and place as the original Godzilla movie, seventy years ago, failed Kamikaze pilot Koichi (Ryunosuke Kamiki) suffers eternal shame for not crashing his plane into an American war ship, and a serious case of PTSD. Bad enough he lived through the war, but he has to rebuild a life from the ashes of his family home in Tokyo. He inadvertently brings Moriko (Minami Hamabe) and the baby she saved into his life and spends years with them as they and the country slowly rebuild from the devastation of WWII. While at sea he again encounters the giant, ferocious lizard that nearly killed him during the war, this time off the coast of Japan and as terrible as ever. It’s making its way toward Tokyo, and is apparently unstoppable.
So many aspects of this movie are great that I barely know where to begin. First, let me say again that Godzilla is one of those monsters that I never cared for much. Now and then I would watch one out of historical curiosity, or because I had been fooled by advertising, or it was on Svengooli that week. I went with CFR to see this one because it’s set in early 1950s Japan and not in English and took earplugs to protect myself from the typically too loud monster sounds. Didn’t need the earplugs, and was amazed at the sound work on this film. Nothing was overwhelming and the creature sounds were not the same as the last twenty monsters. Cinematography was gorgeous except for one thing. We disagreed on this but I was very ticked off early to see that the movie is VERY DARK, to the point of not being able to see some of the early action. It stayed darker than normal for most of the film. Sure, I understand this was done for a few reasons, like making the subtitles easier to read, but dang it, in this modern era that shouldn’t be needed, and the few well lit daylight scenes were easy to read.
Now that I’ve gotten my one complaint out of the way I will get back to why this movie is amazing. I felt like the art direction and costuming enhanced an already powerful film. Judging by the old black and white pictures of 1950s Japan my father left me, everything looked just the way it should, and working with the lighting and camera work made the movie world feel very real. What better way to showcase a completely unrealistic monster than making its surroundings appear super lifelike. Godzilla is Japan’s apocalypse monster, like zombies are to us. It’s a way to explore social topics and work through cultural issues like nuclear war visited on your country, being soundly defeated by a surprisingly strong and possibly unstoppable foe, and wondering how your government could treat its people the way it does. The movie explores all these themes, so there’s more to enjoy beyond the character arc and monster chaos.
As I sat gaping at the screen (no, really) I noticed that the music is super reminiscent of the old Japanese horror films, which of course did ratchet up the entertainment factor. One powerful moment is of complete silence, which filmmakers just don’t do, even in movies that are supposed to be about staying silent. The moment stretched on and created a wonderful tension. The monster is also reminiscent of the original Godzilla, portrayed by Haruo Nakajima in a rubber suit. This cgi creature does not flow like modern monsters, but is a little clumsy on land. Deadly and mindlessly destructive, but a teensy bit slow and heavy footed. I felt like this was an homage to Nakajima and a powerful departure from what has become standard fare. Unlike the original rubber suit, this Godzilla can light up a cannon in his body, one spinal projection at a time until he unleashes a nuclear style blast from his mouth. If you look closely, though, you will notice a bit of a mechanical effect as the spines rise and turn blue. I felt like this, too, was a bit of an homage to the original clunkiness of the monster.
One update from original Godzilla films is powerful acting. The characters don’t spend their time gaping at Godzilla when they’re not fruitlessly running away. They are realistically portrayed by gorgeous actors who showcase the heavy emotional toll of your country being destroyed, family annihilated and shame for having lost a struggle that was supposed to be easy and glorious. A lot of the emotion is, of course, the product of a great script. It’s nuanced, clever, and honors Japan’s history without sugar coating. Yes, I did notice at least one glaring homage to another famous film monster, but I won’t say which one because spoilers.
CFR and I both laughed and cried and were amazed at just how great this movie is. We had thought it’d be just another Saturday night creature feature. We were so wrong. We’re both waiting to see if this Godzilla will take home a Best Picture next year.
Godzilla Minus Zero
By CFR
“Minus One has no other kaiju but Godzilla, and it takes the monster back to his roots — before that, actually. Whereas the original 1954 Godzilla, a thrilling metaphor for the atomic bomb released just nine years after the end of World War II, takes place in the year it came out, Minus One is set in the immediate aftermath of the war, an era when a demilitarized Japan’s government was in shambles, the cities largely firebombed (or worse) to hell, and its people left searching for new meaning after the disastrous outcome of a war the imperial government started with such ambitious hopes. Japan was at “zero,” and the arrival of Godzilla sets it back to “minus one,” hence the title.“
–Godzilla As an ‘Undiscerning God’
Yup. That’s right. I began my part of the review for this movie with a quote and a link. The quote explains the “minus one” part of the title and lets you, dear reader, know exactly what this movie will give you. Read the article as it is very, very good. Now for my thoughts
OH EMM GEEE THIS MOVIE WAS MAGNIFICENT!
Five minutes into this movie I leaned over to Cranky C, aka Mildred, and said “If this 5 minutes was all the movie was, I would be satisfied.” I think I said that several times through the movie. She also agreed.
Now I don’t agree with the darkness of the movie as in the movie scenes should have been shot with more light. (This was NOT the last season of Game of Thrones – you viewers know what I mean). However, to me it was never too dark by any standards. Greyish, yes, but never dark. Also, I might have better eyes.
The movie was perfect.
Many times I leaned over to Cranky C (Mildred) and said “If all this movie was this last 10/20/30/40/etc. minutes I would be satisfied. She always agreed.
Now for my thoughts:
- Direction. All Hail Takashi Yamazaki! Director and writer of this magnificent movie. Every frame, every sound, every sight was perfect. The man should be considered a national treasure for making such a great film.
- Like The Exorcist. Godzilla Minus One is like the classic 70s movie, The Exorcist. In other words, it doesn’t tell the end at the beginning. The characters have to figure out what is going on. It is a gradual slow burn, bringing the characters closer to the monster. By the time Godzilla is a reality for the people in the story, it makes sense how that happened. YES!
- Character Growth. Holy Goodness THERE WAS CHARACTER GROWTH AND EVEN REDEMPTION!! Godzilla just didn’t pop up and start stomping. Godzilla was a catalyst for the characters to deal with trauma and to grow/change. Plus the character growth happened for many of the characters.
- Acting. I salute all the actors! They gave their characters nuance and portrayed them as real people. I felt all of these people had suffered but they expressed it in a different way. Wow! All performances were golden.
- Godzilla. Now usually I feel sorry for the “monster.” I did for the first scene and then I just didn’t. Those beady eyes and furrowed brows made Godzilla look angry all the time. He stopped being a hurt wild animal and started being the harbinger of despair. (I kid you not.) Loved it.
- The Look & Feel. Cranky C (Mildred) talked earlier about how the movie looked like the pictures her dad brought home from the war. This is not a pretty perfect movie. The characters are living in destroyed homes and villages. It is easy to feel despair yourself.
- Silence. Cranky C (Mildred) has spoken of the silent moment in the movie that keeps the audience guessing about the outcome. Wow, I say, wow.
- Salute. During the above mentioned silence the Japanese saluted in the direction of Godzilla. I won’t say more but for a moment I did not know who they were saluting. Wow.
- Nuclear Bomb. Yes, the first Godzilla captured the horror of nuclear bombs. This Godzilla focused more on national despair. However, we did get the nuclear bomb reference at times and for me that just added to the sorrow and was a wonderful throwback salute to the original Godzill.
- POV. The power of this movie is, for me a European descent American, extraordinary. American audiences don’t see the sorrow and despair of the Japanese people after World War II. Not all Japanese people wanted the war. That even included the military. (Read The Japanese General Who Opposed Pearl Harbor.) When the war ended, well, there was despair and political strife in Japan. That is stated in this movie with several characters saying they don’t trust the government. As a political piece, this movie is all about people coming together to save their world regardless of government or political intervention.
- Another POV Movie. Decades ago when I was an undergraduate, the local library played an early Akira Kurosawa movie No Regrets for Our Youth. Kurosawa is one of the great film makers of all time who is best known for his samurai movies. However, No Regrets for Our Youth was a movie looking at the totalitarian world of pre- and post WW2 Japan. Of great interest to me was that the main character was a woman. In this movie you saw the despair of the Japanese people growing as WW2 approached and their determination to rebuild after. What was most powerful for me about this movie was that at the end the heroine said that much work needed to be done to elevate the status of women. This movie has stuck with me for decades. It was that powerful. Watching Godzilla Minus One, I had the same feelings. Wow. Just wow.
I can never truly know or speak about the Japanese experience surrounding WW2. However, I think I caught a glimpse of the universal human spirit surviving in both movies.
You will find links for No Regrets for Our Youth at the bottom of this review.
I cannot praise Godzilla Minus One enough! It was that good, that moving, that wow. What are you waiting for? What are you doing with your life? Go see this movie! I will so see it again. I bet Cranky C (Mildred) will go with me. 😊
LINKS for Godzilla Minus One:
- Godzilla Minus One – Official Website
- Godzilla Minus One – IMDB
- Godzilla Minus One – Wikipedia
- Article: Godzilla As an ‘Undiscerning God’
No Regrets for Our Youth
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