Nihonkai daikaisen: Umi yukaba (1983)

Nihonkai daikaisen: Umi yukaba: Directed by Toshio Masuda. With Toshirô Mifune, Tadashi Yokouchi, Hiroyuki Okita, Junko Mihara. The story of Japan’s victory in the battle of Tsushima Strait

“Mifune Toshiro previously played Japanese naval hero Togo Heihachiro in Maruyama Seijiu0026#39;s u0026quot;Battle of the Japan Seau0026quot; (Nihonkai daikasen, 1969), a large-scale production, that offered a general outlook of the Russo-Japanese War (1904 – 1905). Mifune reprises the role in u0026quot;Battle Anthemu0026quot; (Nihonkai daikasen: Umi yukaba, 1983). The film has a different perspective. Instead of depicting the diplomatic players, as the previous film did, this gives the central attention to the young soldiers, who fought in the war, as well as Japanu0026#39;s decisive victory in Tsushima Strait.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThough neither of these films really clicked for myself, I found this to be the better one, despite it being nowhere near as famous as the predecessor. At least this film paints characters that the audience comes to know, and shows what it was like to be a Japanese soldier at time. Then again, if you come to watch this film without any historical background about that particular war, you may get a little lost, as this film is not going for a thorough contextualization as u0026quot;Battle of the Japan Seau0026quot; did.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eUnlike the previous film, this one has a romance. I did not care for it, as it starts as pure harassment, and then turns into melodrama. Also, if you are a Mifune fan, you are probably are going to enjoy u0026quot;Battle of the Japan Seau0026quot; much more, since he doesnu0026#39;t have nearly as much screen-time in u0026quot;Battle Anthemu0026quot;. Togo is also a character so widely admired, that Mifuneu0026#39;s two performances as this man are one-dimensional, and even stale. Mifune does not get to show his versatility as an actor, but instead just reads his lines like a good boy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you are not terribly interested in Japanese war films, I wouldnu0026#39;t really recommend either of these films. The Japanese have made so much better films about World War II and other conflicts in the countryu0026#39;s long history.”