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Film: Godzilla Minus One
Year: 2023
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Writers: Takashi Yamazaki
Starring: Minami Hamabe, Ryunosuke Kamiki and Sakura Ando
Review:
This was a movie that when I heard was coming out, piqued my interest. I'm a lifelong fan of the series. As a child, I was all about seeing Godzilla take on other kaiju. It wasn't until becoming an adult and understood the subtext behind the original that I was hooked even more. I'm a fan of the last film that Toho did with Shin Godzilla, so I was curious as to what we'd get here.
Synopsis: post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.
We start this as World War II is ending. Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) lands on an island to get repairs on his plane. Something to point out here is that Koichi was supposed to be a kamikaze pilot. He chickened out though. Sosaku Tachibana (Munetaka Aoki) presses him about the damage they find on his aircraft and it causes Koichi to freak out. The time here on the island is short lived when a giant lizard from the synopsis attacks. Koichi freezes up again when asked to use the machine gun on his plane to protect the others on the island. Sosaku and Koichi both survive. The former wants Koichi to live with the deaths from this place.
Koichi then sees the devastation WWII had on his hometown. His family was killed in bombing raids. He hears it from a neighbor, Sumiko Ota (Sakura Ando). She blames him and those she deems cowards for why they lost the war. Koichi doesn't know what to do with himself. It is around here that he runs into Noriko Oishi (Minami Hamabe). She has a child and is accused of stealing. She gives the baby to Koichi as she flees. He tries to leave the child behind but can't. He heads home and she appears from hiding. She was waiting for him to leave. He allows her to come back to his place where she settles in. He tells her that she can't stay, but not very hard.
The two of them settle into life together. He gets a job on a boat that is captained by Yoji Akitsu (Kuranosuke Sasaki). They are tasked with clearing underwater mines. Noriko also gets a job in an office. Neither her nor Koichi want to admit their feelings to each other though.
Things seem to be getting on the right track and that is when things take a darker turn. Japan hasn't healed from the devastation of the atomic bombs and war itself. They now face a more deadly opponent as Godzilla sets its sights on attacking the mainland. The Japanese people will need to step up to defend their land once again, not being able to relay on the superpowers surrounding them.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Now I'm sorry to play my hand early here, but I loved this movie. It is interesting to not continue with the story from the original Gojira run or even from Shin Godzilla. A podcaster I respect when it comes to these kaiju films said that they are good with Toho every few years just doing a reboot of the story and if they put out quality like this, I'm here for it.
Let me then explore the story elements a bit more. First, I want to look at our lead, Koichi. His story is interesting in that he was tasked with being a kamikaze pilot. He didn't want to die so he fled instead of fulfilling his duty. I thought this was an interesting idea to look at since from my understanding, duty is a huge thing with the Japanese people. Failure is something that they take hard. He is belittled by Sosaku, Sumiko and even Yoji looks at him differently when learning the truth. What I love here though is seeing the growth and healing from this mindset. Seeing the rebuilding of not only the area they live in, but also mending the relationships was heartwarming. I thought this was a good message.
Sticking with Koichi, I want to bring in Noriko and how she factors into his life. This baby that she is protecting isn't hers. A dying family asked her to protect the baby. Sumiko scolds both her and Koichi. They're doing a good deed, but they're not prepared for how difficult this is. I can second this as a new parent. Despite this, they come together to take care of this child. You could even look at this like Japan is the kid and it needs to be nurtured as well as protected. I'll be honest, this part of the movie tugged at my heartstrings. Things happen to pull Koichi and Noriko apart. They might also have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save others around them. I want to credit the story here.
Now I haven't even gotten to the Godzilla stuff yet. There isn't much of a reason as to why this kaiju is attacking. It just seems to be. I love the look of the beast. It is done with CGI, but I had no issues there. That was one of my minor problems with Shin Godzilla. The fight sequences are good. Like other films in the series, we don't get a lot of monsters. When we do though, it is great. I'll just go ahead and say that the cinematography is also good. It captures the bleakness of Japan post the war. Everything is drab and grey. This is also set in the past where technology is limited as well. This all works in the favor for me. There isn’t much more to say with filmmaking, aside from the fact that I love incorporating the original theme song. The rest of the soundtrack works as well.
Let me then get to last thing to go into which is acting. I thought that Kamiki and Hamabe played well off each other. Neither have anyone else aside from each other and the child they’re caring for. They build a community around them. I like them as the leads. Kamiki though as Koichi is the star here. He needs to grow from his guilt from the war. I loved that story arch. Ando was solid as the neighbor who is hard on him. I like Sasaki and his crew. Aoki is great at pushing Koichi to where he ends up. The acting here is strong across the board.
In conclusion, I’ve been giving my praise to everyone who is talking about this movie. This could be recency bias, but I think this is a top five Godzilla film. I’ll be honest, the story brought me to tears. It could be having a beer in the theater, but it just hit me and I could connect with it. I love exploring post-WWII Japan and how it showcases the fighting spirit of its people despite their plight. Then you factor in a great looking take on Godzilla. This is an excellent movie. I put kaiju films into the horror genre. I know not everyone does. The darker tone here is partially why. I’m excited to revisit this one as well and would highly recommend it.
My Rating: 9 out of 10