To mark Godzilla's 70th anniversary Toho Studios take the gargantuan lizard back to his routes with a story of post WWII Japan suffering under the scaly foot of the monster. Big dog of Japanese cinema Takashi Yamazaki writes, directs and takes charge of special effects and boy does he deliver.
Godzilla may be the star but the film is really the story of fighter pilot Koichi Shikishima. Following failure to carry out his Kamikaze duties and a harrowing encounter with a smaller (but still plenty fearsome) iteration of Godzilla he returns to whats left of his home where he forms an unconventional family with a young women and the abandoned baby she is taking care of. Over time things start to look up for the trio as he gets a job clearing leftover mines from the sea but haunted by survivor's guilt and traumatised by PTSD Koichi is unable to let himself be happy. When a the giant radioactive lizard appears and begins to wreck whats left of his homeland Koichi and the rest of his minesweeper crew join in efforts to defend the country from this new threat.
The minus one of the title refers to the state of Japan, reduced to zero after the war it sinks even lower following the appearance of Godzilla and the feeling of regression really comes through. From the protagonists tattered home to the use of wooden boats to clear mines there is a sense of country that has gone backwards in time and when the monster emerges, and the US takes a knee to avoid escalating tensions with the Soviet Union, it becomes clear Japan has pretty much nothing to fight back with other than their ingenuity and a sense of camaraderie and togetherness. This togetherness is at the core of Godzilla Minus One, for all the spectacle its a story of people rising to the occasion when they have been utterly failed by those in charge. Its all driven along by group of fairly stock but very likeable characters that you'll want to succeed. Given it's iconic legacy it would have been easy for the audience to end up rooting for Godzilla but there's no chance of that here, the human pain and fear is too real. Plus the monster is a total prick.
None of this is to say the titular lizard of Godzilla Minus One isn't a showstopper. The sense of scale achieved here may be the best of any of its outings, with effects and sound design combining to make encounters with the massive monster genuinely chilling. Yamazaki has been described as the Japanese Spielberg and there is a boat sequence that gives some serious Jaws vibes. On land Godzilla's city rampage is as spectacular as it is horrible with buildings and vehicles feeling like the models of the old school Kalju flicks as they are crumpled and tossed like balsa wood toys. Godzilla may be a force of nature but the eyes give the creature a sentient malevolence as he stacks up the body count. Built for purpose, this is as good as Godzilla has ever looked.
If there are knocks to be had against Godzilla Minus One it could be argued that the political commentary is very on the nose and everything works out a little conveniently in the end. Personally, I would say a movie with a 164ft lizard doesn't need to be subtle with its themes and after the wringer it puts the audience through a happy ending is well deserved.
Not just for Godzilla fans but anyone who is fan of Japanese cinema or just uplifting tales of people putting their shattered lives back together against an epic backdrop, Minus One is pretty much a must see. It's also a lesson that, in a cinema landscape obsessed with continuity and crossover, freshness and reinvention is the real way to keep an IP relevant.
9 realisations that no victory is achieved when you treat human life as disposable out of 10.
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