UNDER THE FLAG OF THE RISING SUN - DVD review

Prolific Japanese filmmaker, Kinji Fukasaku, perhaps reached his most widest audience with 2000's "Battle Royale", a wild movie about high school students forced to kill each other on a remote island (think "Survivor" meets "Lord of the Flies"). Sadly, Fukasaku would pass away from prostate cancer while filming the sequel. His son, Kenta, would complete "Battle Royale IIL Requiem." Fukasaku is certainly more well-known for his Yakuza films of the 70's. His "Yakuza Papers" showed a de-romanticized portrayal of gangsters and their supposed codes of honor. Handheld shots and a documentary feel are the trademarks of those films and their origin can be traced back to "Under the Flag of the Rising Sun."

Based on an award-winning novel by Shoji Yuki, "Under the Flag" follows the tail of a soldier's widow, played by Sachiko Hidari, who was told her husband was executed for desertion and will receive no benefits. Thirty years after the war, she continues to file appeals not so much for the money, but to find out the truth of what happened. On the surface, the premise is similar to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "A Very Long Engagement" (my favorite film of 2004), but Fukasaku's take is far more grittier than Jeunet's fable-like film. However, both at their heart are a love story set amidst the horrors of war.

The film opens up with footage of the Emperor paying honor to the casualties of World War II. This is a continued motif by Fukasaku, who mixes in the characters' flashbacks with actual footage and still photos of the war. The Widow is given the name of four men who served with her husband in the Pacific Theater and have yet to answer inquiries by the Ministry of Defense, whose records of events are shoddy. First, she meets Terajima who lives on a garbage dump on the outskirts of Tokyo. He is the saddest of the bunch, the horrors he witnessed left him afraid to interact with other people. Terajima shuffles about the trash heaps with bugged-out, haunted eyes. Next is Akiba, a stage actor performing an act in which he plays a delusional soldier that believes Japan won WWII. He has a hard time recalling events and sometimes can't remember what's real and what's apart of his act. There is also Ochi, a former MP who tried to drown his memories out with bootleg alcohol, going blind in the process and Ohashi, now a teacher. His poetry lessons are interrupted by the roar of airlines from a nearby airport.

This crashing of peaceful moments occurs quite a bit. The majority of the flashbacks are in black and white, but sometimes either melts into color or abruptly slams into it. Early on, we meet the Widow as she first inquires about her husband's death. The scene dissolves into the present, now in color. Another scene depicts Japanese soldiers surrounding an American prisoner. An officer draws his sword and swings as the scene explodes into color, blood gushing from the American's wounds.

Fukasaku's D.P., Hiroshi Segawa, who has also worked with Hiroshi Teshigahara ("Woman in the Dunes, for example), comes from a documentary background and it shows. Many of the flashbacks blend into the actual footage that it's hard to discern what was real and what was fiction. Fukasaku's familiar techniques such as tilted angles and handheld shots are first used here. These traits would return in Fukasaku's next film, "Street Mobster", and continue to be seen again and again.

The film isn't just about depicting the horrors of war, but depicting its affect on the people. The soldiers and their families are still haunted by past events. Right after the war, Terajima found himself home, living in the rubble of Tokyo. But when the city recovers and rebuilds, he finds himself uncomfortable with the modernized surrounds and flees to the garbage dump. The outside may change, but the emotional scars and internal pain will not. Just as Fukasaku dismantled the Yakuza's codes of honor in his gangster pics, he takes the same stance with Japanese army's belief of invincibility. Even in the face of defeat, some soldiers cling to the belief that was drummed into their minds to the point of delusion and madness.

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The colors are sometimes washed out, but that's due mainly to the age of the film. Overall, the picture looks very good with no noticeable specks or grain.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in mono in the original Japanese language, which is fine for this dialogue-heavy film.

EXTRAS:
There is an audio commentary track by subtitler, Linda Hoaglund. It's a great listen as she's very informative about the film and Fukasaku.

We also get a five minute interview with Fukasaku historian, Yamane Sadao. Another informative extra, albeit very brief.

Finally, there's the usual theatrical trailer and liner notes.

FILM VALUE:
Fans of Fukasaku will find "Under the Flag of the Rising Sun" a worthy predecessor to his more recognized Yakuza films. While similar to "A Very Long Engagement", don't expect the same optimistic ending. This is a heartbreaking film about the desperate acts man is capable of in the face of death.